The  Money  of  the  Bible 


UC-NRLF 


B    3    flTfl    EOM 


George  C  I 


VOORSANGER     COLLECTION 

OF    THE 

SEMITIC     LIBRARY 

O  F    TH  E 

University  of  California 

GIFT  OF 

REV.  JACOB  VOORSANGER,  D.D. 

1906 


\)  ^^-^v-^-^^^^^^-^i^^'^ 


/- 


THE   MONEY  OF  THE   BIBLE 


y^ 


Shekel 
Simon  Sar-Cochab 


aSg-^atSs  of  Mb\t  lEtnotoleirgt 

XX 

THE 

MONEY  OF  THE   BIBLE 

ILLUSTRATED  BY  NUMEROUS    WOODCUTS 
AND  FACSIMILE  REPRESENTATIONS 


GEORGE   C.  WILLIAMSON 

D.LIT.,    MEMB.    NUM.    SOC.    LOND.,    ETC. 
AUTHOR   OF    'TRADE   TOKENS   OF   THE   SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY,'    ETC. 


>      •      •    •      • 
.•*,♦•    •  ' 


FLEMING   H.   REVELL   COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  I  CHICAGO 

112  Fifth  Avenue  i    148  &  150  Madison  Street 

The  Religious   Trad  Society ^  London 


L),T-v^— Y~ 


INTRODUCTION 


This  little  book  does  not  claim  to  be  anything 
more  than  a  hand-book  for  the  Bible  student.  It  is 
intended  to  supply  a  want  which  has  been  brought 
often  and  practically  to  my  notice. 

The  works  on  Biblical  Numismatics  or  Jewish  coins 
are  exhaustive,  but  are  costly,  and  in  many  instances 
rare.  They  are  usually  written  for  those  already 
learned  in  the  science,  and  are  full  of  technical  infor- 
mation. They  are  frequently  in  foreign  tongues,  and 
abounding  in  references  given  in  the  original  Hebrew, 
Greek,  and  Latin.  For  these  and  other  reasons  the 
works  to  which  I  refer  are  of  little  value  to  any  but 
advanced  students. 

Necessarily  this  book  has  been  a  compilation  from 
the  standard  works  on  the  subject,  and  it  is  a  digest  of 
what  has  been  decided  by  those  best  qualified  to  speak 
on  this  interesting  branch  of  science.  No  pains  have 
been  spared  to  consult  the  best  and  the  latest  author- 
ities, and  every  work  that  is  known  to  me  on  the 


6  INTRODUCTION 

subject  has  received  careful  attention.  In  many  cases 
extracts  have  been  made  from  the  writings  of  those 
who  have  made  Jewish  currency  a  Hfe  study,  and 
a  full  and  grateful  acknowledgement  is  given,  especially 
of  my  indebtedness  to  the  works  of  Madden  and 
de  Saulcy.  Without  Madden's  costly  works  no  student 
can  even  pretend  to  study  the  subject,  and  his  writings 
have  been  laid  under  heavy  contribution,  as  the  works 
of  the  greatest  authority.  A  list  is  appended  of  the 
chief  books  that  have  been  consulted,  for  the  use  of 
such  readers  as  may  desire  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  and  to  give  it  a  deeper  investigation.  The 
third  book  in  the  list  can  be  recommended  as  the  great 
work  on  the  subject. 

I  have  written  this  treatise  in  easy  language,  and 
perhaps  even  over-explained  myself,  beside  trans- 
lating every  reference  given  in  the  original.  It  seemed 
necessary  in  most  cases  to  give  the  original,  as  an  aid 
to  the  more  highly  educated  reader ;  but  the  book  is 
mainly  written  for  popular  use  and  commended  to 
popular  attention. 

G.  C.  W. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introduction 5 

List  of  Authorities 9 

List  of  Illustrations 11 

Chap.  I.  Uncoined  Money  of  the  Old  Testament       .  13 

II.  Coined  Money  of  the  Old  Testament        .  25 

III.  Coined  Money  of  the  time  of  the  Apocrypha, 

WITH  pedigree  of  THE  AsMON^AN  DyNASTY  .  3  I 

IV.  New  Testament  Money.    Coins  of  the  Herods  43 
V.  The    Coins   actually    named   in   the   New 

Testament 58 

VI.  Coins  illustrative  of  Bible  Story       .         .  80 

Index 95 

List  of  Scripture  References 96 


LIST   OF  AUTHORITIES 


Greek  Testament, — Dean  Alford. 

History  of  Jexvish  Coinage. — F.  W.  Madden. 

Coins  of  the  Jews. — F.  W.  Madden. 

Recherches  sur  la  numismatique  juda^ique. — F.  de  Saulcy. 

Biblische  Numismatik. — Abb£  Cavedoni. 

Dissertationes  Numismatum. — Spanheim. 

Geschichte  der  jUdischen  Miinzen. — Levy. 

Numismatica  Biblica. — Cavedoni. 

Nuovi  stxidi  sopra  le  antiche  Monete  giudaiche. — Cavedoni. 

Numistnatic  Illustrations. — Akerman. 

Numismatique  de  la  Terre  Sainte. — F.  DE  Saulcy. 

De  Numis  Hebrceo-Samaritanis. — Bayer. 

Dictionary  of  the  Bible  (Art.  *  Money'). — Poole. 

Life  of  St.  Paul. — Cqnybeare. 

Sunday  School  Teachers'  Dictionary. — KiTTO. 

Biblical  Cyclopaedia. — Eadie. 

Numerous  papers  and  articles  on  the  subject  in  the  Nui?iis- 
matic  Chronicle  and  Journal,  Revue  Nu7nis?natique,  Numisinatische 
Zeitschrift,  Melanges  de  Numismatique,  Berliner  Philologische  Wo- 
chenschrift,  Zeitschrift  fur  Numisjnatik. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Egyptian  weighing  money 

Egyptian  ring  money     . 

Gold  daric     . 

Shekel  of  the  time  of  Ezra 

Tetradrachm  of  Alexander 

Tetradrachm  of  Seleucus  I  Nicator 

Tetradrachm  of  Antiochus  Euergetes 

Half  Shekel  (copper)  of  Simon  Maccabseus 

Sixth  of  Shekel  (copper)  of  Simon  Maccabseus 

Coin  of  John  Hyrcanus  . 

Coin  of  Judas  Aristobulus 

Coin  of  Alexander  Janneeus 

Coin  of  Alexander  Janngeus  (with  title  of  king) 

Coin  of  Herod  I  (Year  3  =  B.C.  37) 

Coin  of  Archelaus 

Coin  of  Herod  Antipas  (Year  33  =  A.D.  29) 
Coin  of  Herod  Philip  H  (Year  37  =  a.d.  33) 
Coin  of  Herod  Agrippa  I  (Year  6=:A.d.  37) 
Coin  of  Herod  Agrippa  I  (as  Ceesar's  friend) 
Coin  of  Herod  Agrippa  II      .         .         . 
Coin  of  Procurator  Coponius . 
Coin  of  Procurator  Annius  Rufus  (Year  4I=a.d.  i 
Coin  of  Pontius  Pilate    . 
Stater  of  Augustus 


4) 


PAGE 
15 
16 
26 
28 
32 
32 

33 
35 
36 
40 

41 
41 
42 

44 
46 

48 

49 
52 
52 
53 
55 
55 
56 
61 


12  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Stater  of  Rhodes,  with  flowers        . 62 

Coin  of  Alexander  Jannseus 65 

Coin  of  Augustus  . 67 

Coin  of  Gadara 68 

Coin  of  Juba,  King  of  Numidia 68 

Denarius  or  Penny 70 

Coin  representing  Apollo  with  the  title  of  Saviour  ,         .         -73 

Coins  of  Eleazar  the  Priest 80 

Coin  of  the  First  Year  of  the  Revolt 81 

Coins  of  Simon  Nasi  of  the  First  Year  of  the  Revolt       .        .         .82 

Coin  of  Simon  of  the  Second  Year  of  the  Revolt  (Year  67-68)        .  82 

Coin  of  Simon  of  the  Third  Year  of  the  Revolt  (Year  68-69)  .         •  83 

Obverses  of  three  Coins  of  Vespasian 84 

Coins  of  the  Second  Revolt 85, 86 

Copper  Coin  of  Hadrian         ........  86 

Phrygian  Coin 87 

Tyrian  Coins 88 

Phoenician  Coin  (enlarged) 89 

Coin  of  Antoninus  Pius 89 

Ephesian  Coin 90 

Ephesian  Charm    ..........  91 

Coin  of  Cyprus 91 

Medals  used  at  Isthmian  Games .92 

Coin  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus 93 

Primitive  Symbolical  Cross 94 

The  Labarum 94 


THE   MONEY  OF  THE   BIBLE 


CHAPTER   I 

UNCOINED  MONEY  OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT 

In  considering  the  money  of  the  Bible  it  is  im- 
portant in  the  first  place  to  draw  a  broad  line  of 
distinction  between  uncoined  and  coined  money,  and 
it  will  be  seen  that,  with  one  or  two  possible  excep- 
tions, the  money  of  the  Old  Testament  falls  under  the 
first  of  these  heads.  It  will  be  found,  however,  as  the 
subject  is  pursued,  that  for  the  piece  of  money  to  be 
uncoined  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  it  has  not 
a  distinctive  and  special  value,  as  weighed  pieces  of 
silver  were  of  frequent  and  well-recognized  use  in  the 
early  times  with  which  the  Bible  has  to  do. 

In  the  Book  of  Job  (xlii.  ii)  we  have  what  is 
perhaps  the  earliest  reference  in  the  Bible  to  currency, 
each   of  his   friends   giving   him   when  visiting   him 


14  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

a  piece  of  money  (or  silver)  and  an  ear-ring  of  gold. 
The  word  used  for  piece  of  money  in  this  passage  is 
kesitah  (nn^'^p).  This  word  occurs  three  times  in  the 
Old  Testament ;  in  the  above  passage  in  Job,  in  the 
reference  to  the  purchase  of  a  piece  of  land  by  Jacob 
at  Shechem  for  one  hundred  pieces  (Gen.  xxxiii.  19), 
and  in  Joshua  xxiv.  32,  where  the  same  piece  of  land 
is  again  mentioned.  It  literally  means  'a  portion,' 
and  refers  in  all  probability  to  a  piece  of  rough 
metal,  broken  off,  but  probably  having  a  known  and 
recognized  value  by  weight. 

The  ear-ring  of  gold  gives  a  further  allusion  to 
the  use  of  pieces  of  metal  of  known  and  recognized 
weight,  either  for  purchasing  or,  until  so  required,  as 
ornaments.  The  Septuagint  version  of  the  Bible 
more  accurately  translates  this  phrase  a  tetradrachm 
of  uncoined  gold  {r^TpahpayjtXOV  xpvaov  kol  acrniovy 

It  is  clear,  as  all  the  friends  of  the  patriarch  Job 
gave  him  the  same  gift,  and  that  in  conjunction  with 
a  piece  of  silver,  that  the  ear-ring  was  representative 
of  certain  value,  and  it  is  equally  evident  that  Job 
used  his  gifts  in  the  purchase  of  cattle,  as  we  read 
in  the  next  verse  that  he  was  possessed  of  thousands 
of  animals. 

Similar  instances  of  the  use  of  ornaments  of  gold, 
both  as  decoration  and  also  as  representative  of 
wealth,  are  to  be  found  in  the  Old  Testament.  The 
Midianites  (Num.  xxxi.  50,  51)  carried  their  wealth 
with  them  in  the  form  of  chains,  bracelets,  ear-rings, 


UNCOINED   MONEY   OF   THE   OLD  TESTAMENT      15 

and  tablets,  and  the  Israelites  on  leaving  Egypt 
spoiled  the  Egyptians  of  jewels  of  silver  and  jewels 
of  gold,  obtaining  the  wages  for  their  long  and  arduous 
labour  in  this  way  (Exod.  xii.  ^^,  ^6). 

These  ornaments  probably  had  a  distinctive  weight, 
which  was  known  and  possibly  stamped  upon  them. 
The  servant  of  Abraham  gave  to  Rebekah  '  a  golden 
ear-ring  of  half  a  shekel  weight,  and  two  bracelets 


EGYPTIAN    WEIGHING    MONEY. 

for  her  hands  of  ten  shekels  weight  of  gold '  (Gen. 
xxiv.  22). 

The  ancient  Egyptians  are  represented  in  con- 
temporary paintings  as  weighing  rings  of  metal,  gold, 
and  white  gold  (i.  e.  silver),  and  of  keeping  by  them 
vessels  containing  piles  of  such  weighed  rings,  each 
having,  in  all  probability,  its  own  distinctive  value. 
The  illustrations  are  from    Sir   Gardner  Wilkinson's 


i6 


THE   MONEY  OF   THE    BIBLE 


work  on  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii.  p.  149,  and  are 
from  drawings  made  in  the  tombs. 

The  money  used  by  the  children  of  Israel  when 
they  went  to  purchase  corn  in  Egypt  may  have  been 
of  this  ring  shape,  resembling  the  bronze  rings  for 
arms  and  ankles  still  occasionally  found  in  the  bogs 
of  Ireland  and  those  used  by  uncivilized  tribes  in  the 
South  Seas.  The  Israelitish  money  is  spoken  of  as 
*  bundles  of  money '  (Gen.   xlii.   ^t^^  and   a  similar 


EGYPTIAN   RING   MONEY. 


phrase  occurs  in  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  (Deut.  xiv. 
24-26),  where  the  payment  of  tithe  is  permitted  in 
money  instead  of  kind,  when  distance  prevents  the 
journeying  of  flocks.  The  passage  states,  'then  shall 
thou  turn  it  into  money,  and  bind  up  the  money  in  thine 
hand  ; '  and  this  implies  the  use  of  ring  money,  or  at  all 
events  of  money  in  pieces  that  could  be  tied  or 
fastened  together. 


UNCOINED   MONEY   OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT      1 7 

This  use  of  ring  money,  and  its  kindred  one  of 
ornament  for  the  person,  representing  material  and 
available  wealth,  is  spread  through  many  Oriental 
nations,  and  in  places  still  holds  its  own. 

Nubia  is  one  of  the  countries  in  which  ornamental 
ring  money  is  still  used,  and  in  the  cabinets  of  the 
Numismatic  Society  may  be  seen  some  interesting 
specimens  of  Nubian  ring  money  presented  to  the 
Society  by  the  late  Joseph  Bonomi. 

Amongst  nomadic  tribes  especially,  importance  has 
always  been  attached  to  the  visibility  and  portability  of 
wealth,  and  ornaments  for  the  use  of  their  women 
offered  a  convenient  form  for  the  gratification  of  this 
idea.  From  the  ornament  being  attached  to  the 
woman,  it  acquired  a  sort  of  taboo  character,  and  inter- 
ference with  it  was  considered  as  an  insult  to  the 
owner  of  the  female  slave.  There  was  the  con- 
venience also  for  making  that  grand  display  of  material 
property  so  dear  to  an  Oriental  mind,  and  the  further 
advantage  of  an  easy  removal  and  negotiation  in  case 
of  an  urgent  need. 

Egyptian  gold  rings  are  to  be  seen  in  the  University 
Museum  at  Leyden,  and  the  same  character  of  orna- 
mental currency  may  be  noted  even  in  European 
countries. 

An  Icelandic  writer  of  the  twelfth  century,  Snorro 
Sturleson,  speaks  of  a  marriage  dowry  consisting  of 
*  three  large  farms  and  a  gold  collar.'  Caesar  tells  us 
that  '  the  Gauls  used  for  money  gold  and  iron  rings  of 

6 


1 8  THE   MONEY   OF    THE   BIBLE 

certain  weight,'  and  a  similar  statement  he  makes  in 
relation  to  Britain. 

Casual  mention  has  already  been  made  of  Irish 
ring  money.  In  bronze  these  rings  have  been  found 
commencing  in  weight  from  exactly  one  half-penny 
weight,  and  rising  in  regular  proportion  from  that  up 
to  twelve  ounces. 

The  rings  are  sometimes  interlaced  in  the  form  of 
a  chain,  or  hooked  together  by  hooks  at  the  end,  and 
in  some  cases  they  possess  flat  cymbal-like  ends, 
which  were  intended  to  be  brought  firmly  together. 
It  is  therefore  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  meaning  of 
the  passages  mentioned  as  having  reference  to  the 
use  of  ring  money  amongst  the  ancient  Israelites. 

From  the  very  earliest  times  the  precious  metals 
were  used  as  representative  of  wealth.  Abraham 
came  up  from  Egypt  '  very  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver 
and  in  gold '  (Gen.  xiii.  i  and  xxiv.  '^^,  and  that  this 
bullion  was  used  in  commerce  there  is  an  early  proof 
in  Gen.  xvii.  13,  where  money  (^91  kesepJi)  is  spoken 
of  as  the  price  of  a  slave.  The  purchase  by  Abraham 
of  the  Cave  of  Machpelah  for  four  hundred  shekels  of 
silver  weighed  out  to  Ephron  'current  with  the 
merchant'  (LXX.  hoKLfxov  iixiropois),  is  a  more  im- 
portant example  of  the  same  method. 

It  is  evident  that  pieces  of  metal  of  recognized 
value  were  re-weighed  out  by  the  purchaser  to  the 
seller  of  the  land,  and  in  the  presence  of  witnesses. 
There  are  many  similar  instances  of  this  use  of  money 


UNCOINED  MONEY  OF   THE   OLD  TESTAMENT      [9 

by  weight.  Abimelech  gave  to  Sarah  a  thousand 
pieces  of  silver  (Gen.  xx.  16).  The  Philistines  paid  to 
Delilah  eleven  hundred  pieces  of  silver  (Judges  xvi. 
5,  18) ;  Micah,  to  his  mother,  the  same  amount 
(Judges  xvii.  2) ;  the  Ishmaelites  to  Joseph's  brethren, 
twenty  pieces  (Gen.  xxxvii.  28),  and  the  Syrian  to 
Gehazi  (2  Kings  v.  23)  money  by  weight. 

By  the  laws  of  Moses,  men  and  cattle  (Lev.  xxvii.  3 ; 
Num.  iii.  47),  the  possession  of  houses  and  fields 
(Lev.  xxvii.  16),  purchase  of  provisions  (Deut.  ii.  6,  28 
and  xiv.  26),  and  all  fines  for  offences  (Exod.  xxi.  and 
xxii.)  were  regulated  and  determined  by  the  value  of 
silver. 

The  contributions  to  the  Tabernacle  (Exod.  xxx.  13 
and  xxxviii.  26),  the  sacrifices  of  animals  (Lev.  v.  15), 
the  redemption  of  the  first-born  (Num.  iii.  50  and 
xviii.  16),  and  the  payment  to  the  seer  (i  Sam.  ix.  8) 
were  similarly  regulated  by  weight  of  silver.  In  none 
of  these  instances  is  any  reference  intended  to  money 
in  the  form  of  coin,  but  to  silver  by  weight.  The 
words  shekel  or  talent  in  every  case  refer  to  a  weight. 
It  must,  however,  be  noted  that  although  there  are 
references  to  a  considerable  bulk  of  silver,  yet  such 
bulk  consisted  of  separate  pieces,  which  although  not 
issued  by  a  constituted  authority,  yet  must  have 
possessed  separate  and  distinct  recognized  value. 

Mr.  Madden,  who  is  above  every  one  else  in  this 
country  the  authority  upon  this  branch  of  Oriental 
Numismatics,    draws    particular    attention    to     the 

B  2 


20  THE   MONEY   OF   THE    BIBLE 

603,550  half  shekels  accumulated  by  the  contribution 
of  each  Israelite  for  the  tabernacle  work  (Exod. 
xxxviii.  26).  Each  individual  half  shekel  named  in  this 
passage  could  hardly  have  been  separately  v^eighed. 

Then  again^,  in  Exod.  xxx.  13  we  read  of  a  half 
shekel  as  a  contribution  for  the  atonement,  '  the  rich 
shall  not  give  more,  and  the  poor  shall  not  give  less,' 
and  in  i  Sam.  ix.  7,  8  we  learn  that  the  fourth  part 
of  a  shekel,  an  individual  amount  of  recognized  value, 
was  all  the  silver  that  the  servant  of  Saul  had  with 
him  with  which  to  pay  the  seer.  Later  on  we  shall 
find  that  the  word  shekel,  which  in  every  one  of  the 
foregoing  passages  is  a  weight,  becomes  the  name  for 
an  actual  coin. 

Exactly  the  same  change  as  to  the  word  AS  in 
Roman  use  from  weight  to  coin  took  place,  and  an  analo- 
gous case  is  the  use  in  English  of  the  word  pound. 

We  have  therefore  in  use  at  this  period  of  time,  as 
weight  for  silver — the  shekel,  which  is  estimated  to 
have  weighed  about  9  dwt.  Troy,  which  at  ^s.  oz.  in 
silver  would  give  an  approximate  value  of  about  %s.  3^., 
the  bekah  or  half  the  shekel  (Exod.  xxxviii.  26),  the 
third  part  (Nehem.  x.  32),  the  rebah  or  fourth  part 
(i  Sam.  ix.  8),  and  the  gerah  or  twentieth  part  (Exod. 
xxx.  13). 

It  has  been  objected  that  no  portion  of  silver  of 
definite  weight,  and  therefore  value,  has  ever  been 
found  in  the  explorations  and  excavations  that  have 
been  carried  on  in  the  Holy  Land;  but  the  probable 


UNCOINED   MONEY  OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT      ai 

reason  of  this  fact,  which  on  the  face  of  it  is  not  easy 
to  explain,  is  that  from  time  to  time  the  money  used 
was  remelted  before  a  fresh  issue  of  it.  Shaphan  the 
scribe  told  King  Josiah,  in  1  Kings  xxii.  9  and 
1  Chron.  xxxiv.  17,  'Thy  servants  have  gathered'  (or  as 
in  the  Vulgate  more  accurately,  conflaverunt,  'melted  ') 
'  the  money  that  was  found  in  the  house.'  The  same 
verb  is  used  in  Ezek.  xxii.  20,  where  the  passage 
speaks  of  melting  metal  in  a  furnace. 

There  are  two  more  references  to  money  in  the  Old 
Testament  which  require  notice,  more  especially  as 
the  original  makes  use  in  these  two  passages  of  two 
separate  distinctive  words  occurring  nowhere  else  in 
the  version. 

In  I  Sam.  ii.  36,  the  prophecy  concerning  the  ulti- 
mate poverty  of  Eli^s  house,  speaks  of  his  descendants 
who  shall  'come  and  crouch  for  a  piece  of  silver.' 
Here  the  phrase  is  Agorath  keseph  (^D3  T\'p^).  The 
Septuagint  translates  the  word  ojBoXds  apyvpCov,  and 
does  the  same  in  the  passages  where  the  word  gerah 
occurs  in  the  A.  V.  (supra,  Exod.  xxx.  13;  Lev. 
xxvii.  25;  Num.  iii.  47,  xviii.  16;  Ezek.  xlv.  12), 
deriving  both  phrases  from  the  verb  agar  (^l^),  to 
collect ;  and  the  value  of  money  probably  intended  by 
the  expression  is  the  very  least  piece  of  silver  known 
in  use,  the  gerah  or  twentieth  part  of  the  shekel  even, 
if  not  less — that  is,  the  coin  that  would  be  given  to 
a  beggar,  as  in  the  present  day  might  be  expressed  by 
the  words  a  sot^  or  a  farthing. 


22  THE   MONEY  OF   THE   BIBLE 

The  other  reference  is  in  the  Psalms,  Ixviii.  30,  and 
the  word  used  is  ratsce  keseph  (^D?  ""r^"^).  which  appears 
nowhere  else  in  the  Bible.  The  verb  rdssdss 
evidently  is  responsible  for  the  expression  ratsee^ 
and  literally  means  to  break  or  crush.  The  sound  of 
the  word  is  supposed  to  represent  the  sound  of 
breaking.  The  correct  translation  of  the  text  is 
probably  '  trampling  under  foot  the  pieces  (or  ingots, 
or  lumps  roughly  broken  off)  of  silver/  and  the  allu- 
sion is  probably  to  rough  lumps  of  metal  having  an 
approximate  known  value. 

There  is  but  little  mention  of  gold  as  a  medium 
of  commerce  in  the  Old  Testament.  As  ornaments 
having  a  currency  value  we  have  already  noticed 
gold  in  Exod.  iii.  22,  jewels  of  gold  borrowed  from 
the  Egyptians,  and  again  in  Exod.  xii.  '^^.  Also 
the  gifts  to  Rebekah  in  Gen.  xxiv.  22,  and  other 
passages  of  similar  character.  In  Joshua  vii.  21  we 
read  of  a  mass  of  gold  in  a  wedge  or  tongue-shaped 
block  stolen  by  Achan.  Its  weight  is  given  at  50 
shekels  (yAwo-crai^  \kiav  yj)V(jr\v).  Naaman  took  with 
him  on  his  visit  to  the  King  of  Israel  6,000  shekels  of 
gold,  and  David  paid  to  Oman  the  Jebusite  for  his 
threshing-floor  600  shekels  of  gold  by  weight  (i  Chron. 
xxi.  25).  Naaman  also  gave  out  gold  by  weight 
(2  Kings  V.  5). 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  passage  in  the  First 
Book  of  Chronicles  actually  relates  to  gold  at  all,  as  in 
2  Sam.  xxiv.  24,  where  the  same  event  is  recorded,  the 


UNCOINED   MONEY  OF   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT      27 

phrase  used  is  the  more  ordinary  one  for  50  shekels 
of  silver.  There  is  a  passage  in  Isaiah  naming  gold 
(Isa.  xlvi.  6),  '  They  lavish  gold  out  of  the  bag,  and 
weigh  silver  in  the  balance,'  and  another  in  Job  xxviii. 
15,  in  very  similar  terms  referring  to  wisdom,  '  It 
cannot  be  gotten  for  gold,  neither  shall  silver  be 
weighed  for  the  price  thereof.'  Neither  of  these 
passages  refer  to  coin,  but  both  to  gold  in  the  lump 
by  weight. 

It  is  never  safe  in  dealing  with  the  expressions  used 
in  the  Old  Testament  as  regards  large  sums  of  money, 
especially  in  gold,  to  endeavour  to  translate  them  into 
English  value.  The  Oriental  mind  had  a  habit  of 
extravagance  and  a  love  for  the  use  of  hyperbole  and 
metaphor  from  the  very  earliest  times,  and  this  must 
be  taken  into  account.  It  is  very  doubtful  in  many 
cases  whether  anything  like  Western  accuracy  is 
intended  to  be  used  in  Holy  Writ,  but  rather  approxi- 
mate and  relative  terms,  and  then  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  we  are  without  definite  data  as  to  the  value 
of  the  precious  metals  at  these  remote  ages. 

It  is  very  uncertain,  for  example,  what  the  worth  of 
the  talent  of  gold  really  was.  The  income  of  King 
Solomon,  it  has  been  pointed  out,  is  stated  to  have 
been  an  annual  one  of  666  talents  of  gold.  If  the 
usual  estimate  is  made  of  15  talents  of  silver  being  equal 
to  a  talent  of  gold,  as  fifteen  shekels  of  silver  were  to  a 
shekel  of  gold,  we  have  a  sum  amounting  to  four  millions 
of  money  per  annum,  which  it  must  be  confessed  is 


24  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

a  very  unlikely  sum.  The  weight  probably  varied  in 
each  metal,  and  the  nearest  approximate  estimate  that 
can  be  formed  puts  the  talent  of  gold  at  131  lbs.  weight, 
and  the  talent  of  silver  at  117  lbs.,  which  would  give 
an  English  value  to  them  of  about  ;^6,ooo  and  ;^400 
respectively,  and  would  make  the  gold  and  silver 
shekels  of  the  Old  Testament  worth  respectively 
forty  shillings  and  three  shillings. 


CHAPTER   II 

COINED   MONEY  OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT 

The  first  mention  in  the  Bible  of  what  is  actually 
coined  money  occurs  in  various  passages  in  the 
writings  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  {darkemonim^  Ezra 
ii.  68,  69  ;  adarkonim^  'Ezra,  viii.  26,  27  ;  darkemomm, 
Nehem.  vii.  70,  72 ;  adarkomm,  i  Chron.  xxix.  7) ; 
and  in  the  Authorized  Version  the  Hebrew  words 
adarkomm  (Q^^i^nii^^  LXX.  xP'^aol  x^^'^^oi),  and  darke- 
mo7izm  (D^3iD3"]'n,  LXX.  ixvaC),  are  translated  by  the 
use  of  the  word  dram. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  these  words  have 
reference  to  the  Persian  coin,  the  daric,  a  gold  coin 
which  probably  took  its  name  from  the  Persian  dara, 
signifying  king,  from  the  verb  dashtan^  imperative  ddr^ 
to  have,  to  hold,  to  possess  (hence  also  Darius).  The 
figure  on  these  coins  was  of  the  King  of  Persia,  per  se, 
and  not  of  any  particular  king. 

We  are  now  dealing  with  a  time  about  five  hundred 
years  before  Christ,  and  as  coined  money  was  first 


26 


THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 


struck  only  some  three  to  four  hundred  years  earlier, 
we  naturally  expect  to  find  a  coin  in  the  daric  of 
rude  structure  and  simple  device. 

The  obverse  has  the  figure  of  a  king  kneeling,  armed 
with  bow  and  javelin,  and  the  reverse  has  the  incuse 
punch-mark  that  distinguishes  archaic  coins,  and 
which  preceded  any  device  on  that  side.  Our  illustra- 
tion is  of  a  double  daric. 


GOLD    DARIC, 


The  coin  is  of  very  pure  gold,  and  weighs  on  the 
average  130  grains,  which  in  comparison  with  an 
English  sovereign  of  1 13  grains  of  gold  of  lower  purity 
would  give  its  approximate  value  at  £  1  ^s. 

The  very  word  '  sovereign,'  applied  by  us  both  to 
monarch  and  coin,  is  analogous  to  this  word  daric, 
deriving  its  name  from  dara.  These  darics  were  also 
struck  in  silver,  and  to  the  silver  darics  of  Persia 
allusion  is  probably  made  in  Nehem.  v.  15,  'beside 
forty  shekels  of  silver.' 

Artaxerxes  in  B.C.  458  gave  a  special  commission 
to  Ezra,  who  was  just  then  leaving  for  Jerusalem,  as 
to  the  gold  and  silver  in  the  province  (Ezra  vii.  16- 
18),  and  the  king  concluded  with  these  words,  'and 


COINED   MONEY   OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT       27 

whatsoever  shall  seem  good  to  thee,  and  to  thy 
brethren,  to  do  with  the  rest  of  the  silver  and  gold, 
that  do  after  the  will  of  your  God.'  Upon  these 
words  the  eminent  numismatist,  M.  de  Saulcy,  founded 
his  theory  that  the  coin  which  is  figured  on  page  28 — 
the  shekel  with  its  corresponding  half-shekel  issued  in 
the  years  i  to  5 — was  struck  by  Ezra.  The  theory 
was  accepted  by  another  great  writer  on  the  subject, 
Lenormant,  and  tentatively  by  Mr.  Madden,  who  in 
later  years  changed  his  opinion.  These  coins,  weigh- 
ing in  the  shekel  220  grains,  and  in  the  half-shekel 
no  grains,  read  as  follows: 

Obv.—W'\^'  b^^  Shekel  Israel     Shekel  of  Israel = 
a  cup  or  chalice,  and  above  it  the  letters  ^^ 
\  year  2. 

Rev. — ncnipn    D''7Kn"i^    Jemshalaim    ha-kedoshah— 
Jerusalem  the  Holy ;  a  triple  lily. 

The  question  of  the  exact  position  in  history  of 
these  shekels  is  one  of  some  difficulty,  and  at  present 
there  is  no  authoritative  evidence  that  once  for  all 
will  decide  it. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  review  the  evidence  brought 
forward  to  support  the  rival  theories.  M.  de  Saulcy  and 
M.  Lenormant  place  them  as  issued  in  Ezra's  time, 
Mr.  Madden,  M.  Six,  and  Dr.  Merzbacher  attribute 
them  to  Simon  Maccabaeus.  Simon  is  said  to  have 
reigned  in  Judaea  for  eight  years,  but  not  to  have 
obtained  the  right  of  coinage  until  his  fourth  year, 
which    right    again    was    quickly    taken   from    him. 


28 


THE  MONEY  OF   THE   BIBLE 


These  shekels  and  half-shekels  are  of  the  years  i  to 
5,  while  there  do  exist  copper  coins  of  year  4  only^ 
of  very  different  character  from  the  silver,  and  which 
were  almost  certainly  struck  by  Simon.  I  have 
carefully  reviewed  the  evidence  for  and  against,  and 
as  each  writer  is  responsible  for  his  own  conclusions 
only,  my  attribution  of  these  silver  coins  is  to 
the  time  of  Ezra,  and  the  copper  ones  of  the  year 
4  to  Simon  Maccabaeus. 

Accordingly   I   place  these  coins   as  the  earliest 
actual  Jewish  money. 


SHEKEL   OF   THE   TIME   OF   EZRA. 


The  device  on  the  obverse  is  usually  supposed  to 
be  the  cup  or  pot  of  manna  laid  up  in  the  sanctuary. 
'  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  Take  a  pot,  and  put  an 
omer  full  of  manna  therein,  and  lay  it  up  before  the 
Lord,  to  be  kept  for  your  generations '  (Exod. 
xvi.  2iZ)' 

The  device  on  the  reverse  is  either  Aaron's  rod 
that  '  budded,  and  brought  forth  buds,  and  bloomed 
blossoms,  and  yielded  almonds '  (Num.  xvii.  8),  and 
which,  like  the  cup  of  manna,  was  laid  up  before  the 


COINED   MONEY   OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT      29 

Lord  (Num.  xvii.  10),  or  else,  as  Cavedoni  first 
suggested,  it  is  a  lily :  *  I  will  be  as  the  dew  unto 
Israel ;  he  shall  grow  (i.e.  blossom)  as  the  lily'  (Hosea 
xiv.  5).  The  former  attribution  is  the  one,  however, 
more  usually  accepted  by  numismatists,  and  I  accept 
it.  It  brings  both  devices  into  close  and  intimate 
connexion,  and  is  the  more  natural  explanation.  It 
would  be  precious  symbolism  to  the  Jews  after  their 
exile,  reminding  them  of  their  history  and  its  great 
and  past  events,  filling  them  with  hope  as  to  future 
prosperity  and  the  restoration  of  their  Temple  and 
its  worship,  and  encouraging  them  in  this  their 
initial  coinage  to  look  forward  with  hope.  It  was 
the  Temple  and  the  Temple  service  for  which  they 
were  looking  at  the  time,  and  every  symbol  that 
reminded  them  of  the  Tabernacle,  of  historical 
continuity  of  life  and  service,  and  of  the  earlier  pages 
of  their  history,  would  be  likely  to  be  used  by  their 
great  leader  in  a  time  when  so  much  depended  upon 
unity  of  purpose,  determination,  and  faith. 

As  already  mentioned,  there  are  shekels  and  half- 
shekels  for  five  years,  and  every  coin  bears  the  cup 
and  the  rod,  while  the  inscriptions,  with  very  small 
differences,  are  as  given  above  in  the  illustration. 

Jerusalem,  it  will  be  noted,  is  termed  '  the  Holy,' 
a  title  given  to  the  city  from  very  early  times,  and, 
it  is  interesting  to  note,  still  retained  in  its  present 
Arabic  name  El-Kuds,  the  holy.  In  Isa.  xlviii.  2 
it  is  spoken  of  as  '  the  holy  city,'  and  again  Isa.  lii.  i  ; 


30  THE   MONEY  OF   THE   BIBLE 

Dan.  ix.  24;  Joel  iii.  17;  and,  what  is  more  to  the 
purpose,  in  Nehem.  xi.  i,  18,  where  at  this  very 
time  we  read  *to  dwell  in  Jerusalem  the  holy  city.' 
The  title  was  evidently  a  familiar  and  a  favourite  one, 
in  use  at  the  very  time  at  which  I  consider  these 
coins  were  struck,  and  the  coin  but  took  up  the 
popular  phrase  for  the  city  that  was  so  intensely 
beloved  by  its  people. 


CHAPTER   III 

COINED  MONEY  OF  THE  TIME  OF  THE  APOCRYPHA 

The  completion  of  the  Book  of  Malachi  is  usually, 
by  Bible  chronologists,  put  at  420  B.C.,  and  the  period 
from  this  time  down  to  the  opening  of  the  New- 
Testament  is  partially  covered  by  the  books  of  the 
Apocrypha. 

In  ^^2  B.C.  the  kingdom  of  Persia  was  conquered 
by  the  Napoleon  of  his  time,  Alexander  the  Great ; 
but  the  Jews  not  only  did  not  suffer  under  his  rule, 
but  had  much  cause  for  regret  when  he  died. 
Alexander's  coinage  was  chiefly  of  gold  staters  and 
silver  tetradrachms,  and  these  coins,  especially  of  the 
latter  class,  were  struck,  according  to  the  conqueror's 
custom,  in  the  various  countries  that  he  subjugated,  as 
typical  of  the  submission  of  the  nations. 

There  are  coins  extant  of  Alexander  struck  in 
Palestine  at  Joppa,  Acre,  Sycamine  in  Csesarea, 
and  Scythopolis  in  Samaria,  known  also  as  Beth-shan. 

I  illustrate  a  fine  tetradrachm  of  Alexander.     At 


3^ 


THE   MONEY  OF   THE   BIBLE 


the  death  of  Alexander  there  was  considerable  dispute 
as  to  his  possessions,  and  the  Jews,  whose  country  lay 


TETRADRACHM  OF  ALEXANDER. 


between  Syria  and  Egypt,  had  much  cause  for  com- 
plaint during  the  internecine  struggle. 

For  a  while  their  country  was  harassed  by  both 
nations,  and  the  coinage  used  in  the  land  embraces 
that    issued    by  the    Seleucidae    (Syrians)   and    the 


TETRADRACHM  OF  SELEUCUS  I  NICATOR. 


Ptolemies  (Egypt).      Of  the  former  series  the  coin 
I  illustrate  is  a  tetradrachm  of  Seleucus  I  Nicator^ 


COINED  MONEY  OF  THE  APOCRYPHA 


?>?> 


B.C.  312-280,  bearing  on  it  the  title  of  the  King 
'Seleucus'  ZEAEYKOY  BAIIAEHI,  by  and  under 
the  figure,  and  under  the  seat  of  the  chair  the  letters 
A  I,  initials  of  the  name  Diospolis,  where  the  coin  was 
struck,  the  town  being  familiarly  termed  Lydda,  and 
named  in  Acts  ix.  32,  o^^j  38.  These  coins  of  the 
Seleucidae  were  also  struck  in  Tyre,  Sidon,  Ascalon 
and  other  towns. 

The  next  illustration  is  of  a  later  Syrian  coin 
issued  by  the  King  Antiochus  VII,  surnamed  Side- 
tes,  or  the  hunter,  and  Euergetes,  B.C.  138-127.  It 
represents  on  the  obverse  the  head  of  the  king,  and 


TETRADRACHM   OF    ANTIOCHUS   EUERGETES. 


on  the  reverse  the  words  BAZIAEHZ  ANTIOXOY 
EYEPrETOY,  '(Money)  of  the  King  Antiochus 
Euergetes.'  This  title,  meaning  benefactor,  is  of 
peculiar  interest,  because  used  by  our  Lord  in  Luke 
xxii.  25,  when  He,  speaking  of  those  exercising 
authority,  gives  them  the  title  of  benefactors.  The 
device  is  Minerva  holding  Victoria. 

It  is  needless  in  a  work  of  this  kind  to  review  the 
C 


34  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

history  of  the  invasions  of  Judaea  under  the  Kings 
of  Syria  and  Egypt,  and  it  is  well  to  pass  on  to  the 
revolution  of  the  Jews  against  their  persecutors,  led  by 
a  priest  named  Mattathias,  whose  son  Judas  Maccabaeus 
attained  great  notoriety,  and  from  whose  family  came 
the  Herodian  dynasty. 

This  family,  in  the  persons  both  of  the  father  him- 
self and  his  two  sons,  Judas,  surnamed  Maccabaeus,  or 
the  Hammerer  (^2p'0  '  a  hammer '),  and  Jonathan^  who 
succeeded  him,  successfully  led  the  Jews  against  their 
enemies,  defeating  them  over  and  over  again,  and 
obtaining  from  them  a  measure  of  liberty. 

The  second  son,  Simon^  who  after  the  death  of 
Jonathan  formed  a  treaty  with  Demetrius  II,  King  of 
Syria,  became  high  priest  and  leader  of  the  Jews, 
and  to  him  was  given  the  very  important  right  of 
coining  money. 

Judaea  under  Simon  enjoyed  prosperity  and  peace. 
In  B.C.  140  Demetrius  was  captured  by  Mithridates  I, 
King  of  Parthia,  and  the  usurper  Tryphon  having  been 
expelled,  Antiochus  VII  ascended  the  throne.  He  at 
once  renewed  the  treaty  with  Simon^  and  he  it  was, 
whose  coin  is  depicted  above,  who  granted  the  high 
priest  the  right  of  coinage.  '  I  give  thee  leave  also,' 
says  he, '  to  coin  money  for  thy  country,  with  thine  own 
stamp  :  Kal  e7reVpev//a  aoi  TTOtijcraL  K6\x\xa  Ihiov  vofjAafjia 
rfj  X(iipa  (Tov  (i  Mace.  xv.  6). 

The  coins  issued  in  accordance  with  this  decree 
were  in  all  probability  those  of  copper  issued  in  the 


COINED  MONEY  OF  THE  APOCRYPHA     ^S 

fourth  year.  The  shekels  of  Ezra,  in  silver^  were  still  in 
existence,  and  these  coins  of  Simon  were  for  the  half, 
quarter,  and  sixth  parts  of  a  shekel.  The  decree  neither 
states  nor  implies  that  no  earlier  coins  were  issued. 

The  half  shekel  and  the  sixth  of  the  shekel  are 
illustrated,  and  putting  the  Hebrew  inscriptions  into 
English  lettering,  I  give  the  inscriptions  on  all  three  of 
the  coins. 


HALF    SHEKEL    (COPPER)    OF    SIMON    MACCABEUS. 

Gov. — Shenath  arba  Chatzi=In  the  fourth  year — 
one-half 
Two    bunches    of    thickly-leaved    branches, 
between  which  is  a  citron. 
Rev. — Ligullath  Zion  =  The  redemption  of  Zion. 

A  palm-tree  between  two  baskets  filled  with 
dates  and  other  fruits. 

Quarter  shekel  (not  illustrated) — 

Odv. — Shenath  arba  Rebia=In   the  fourth  year — 
one-quarter. 
Two  bundles  of  branches  (lidab). 
Rev. — Ligullath  Zion  =  The  redemption  of  Zion. 
A  citron  (ethrog). 
X  2 


^6  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 


SIXTH    OF    SHEKEL    (COPPER)    OF   SIMON    MACCAB.iUS. 

Obv. — Shenath  arba  =  In  the  fourth  year. 

A  bundle  of  branches  between  two  citrons. 

Rev. — Ligullath  Zion=:The  redemption  of  Zion. 
A  cup  or  chaHce. 

We  have  already  said  that  the  right  was  given  to  Simon 
in  the  fourth  year,  and  very  speedily  removed  from  him. 
These  coins  are  known  of  the  fourth  year  only. 

The  palm-tree  of  Palestine  is  a  symbol  of  great 
interest.  The  palm  branches  are  those  alluded  to  in 
connexion  with  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  (Lev.  xxiii. 
40),  and  the  baskets  with  the  dates  probably  refer  to 
the  first-fruits.  The  citron,  or  ethrog,  was  by  custom 
of  the  Jews  carried  with  the  palm  branches,  or  liilab^ 
on  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  ;  and,  as  Madden  points 
out,  the  various  emblems  have  reference  also  to  the 
prosperity,  peace,  and  productiveness  of  the  country 
under  Simon.  One  coin  is  known,  countermarked  with 
an  elephant,  the  work  of  the  Syrian  king,  but  the  series 
have  not  a  feature  in  common  with  the  older  silver 
coinage,  save  perhaps  the  cup,  which  in  the  copper 
coin  is  very  different  in  shape,  jewelled,  and  more  of 
a  temple  service  vessel  than  the  archaic  form  of  the 
older  coinage. 


COINED  MONEY  OF  THE  APOCRYPHA     37 

These  are  clearly  the  Maccabaean  coins.  Inasmuch 
as  this  is  not  a  detailed  history  of  Jewish  coinage, 
it  will  be  unnecessary  to  pass  in  review  every  coin 
struck  by  successive  high  priests  or  rulers  of  the 
Asmonaean  dynasty. 

A  brief  pedigree  is  appended,  however,  in  order  to 
explain  the  descent  of  the  Herodian  dynasty,  and  to 
guard  against  a  possible  confusion  between  the  various 
rulers  having  the  common  name  of  Herod.  Of  the 
Maccabsean  rulers  there  are  coins  known  of  those 
whose  names  are  in  italics^  i.  e.  Simon,  as  above, 
John  Hyrcanus,  Judas  Aristobulus,  Alexander  Jan- 
nseus,  and  his  wife  Alexandra,  Alexander  II,  and 
Antigonus,  and  then  we  come  to  the  Herodian  rulers. 

Pedigree  showing  the  Asmonaean  Dynasty. 

B.C.   167. 

Mattathias. 

\ 

II  I  II 

Joannen.  Simon.         Judas  Maccabreus.  Eleazar.         Jonathan. 

I 
John  Hyrcanus. 

I 


I  I 

Jndas  Aristobulus  /=  Alexandra     Alexander  Jaii7iceus  =p  Alexatidra. 
(Salome).  1 


I  .       I 

Hyrcanus  II.  Aristobulus  II. 

I  I  "I 

Alexandra  =p  Alexander  II.  Antigonus. 

I 

Mariamne  =  Herod  I.         Aristobulus. 


3« 


THE    MONEY    OF   THE    BIBLE 


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COINED  MONEY  OF   THE   APOCRYPHA  39 

Doubtless  the  little  copper  coins  issued  by  these 
pontifical  rulers  were  of  great  value  commercially, 
as  they  were  the  only  home  coinage  of  the  Jews  for 
small  values.  They  bear  on  one  side  the  name  of 
the  ruler,  and  on  the  other  a  double  cornucopia. 

John  Hyrcanus  succeeded  his  father  in  B.C.  l^S 
as  high  priest,  but  was  more  a  politician  than  a  priest, 
and  the  struggle  at  this  time  on  the  part  of  the  ruler 
was  to  assume  princely  if  not  kingly  power,  and  to  do 
it  without  offending  the  prejudices  of  the  Jews,  who 
hated  the  very  idea  of  an  independent  sovereign. 

With  this  purpose  these  rulers  associated  with  their 
title  of  high  priest  the  so-called  senate  or  confedera- 
tion of  the  Jews  ;  but  little  by  little  the  power  left  the 
senate  and  vested  in  the  ruler,  who  gradually  assimi- 
lated his  position  more  and  more  to  that  of  a  king. 

The  devices,  which  on  the  earliest  coins,  as  has 
been  shown,  related  to  the  unity  of  Jewish  life  with 
its  past  history,  and  the  sacred  character  and  holiness 
of  its  service  and  city — in  the  later  coins  to  the 
revival  of  Temple  worship,  the  feasts  and  ritual  of  the 
Temple,  and  the  general  prosperity  of  the  land  when 
'the  earth  gave  her  increase'  (i  Mace.  xiv.  8),  now 
were  of  a  totally  different  character. 

The  cornucopia  and  the  poppy-head,  the  Syrian 
anchor  and  the  star,  are  now  found  ;  and  in  later 
Herodian  days  devices  of  a  wholly  profane  character 
appear.  The  coin  was  becoming  more  and  more 
heathen,  less  and  less  of  the  sacred  Jewish  character, 


40  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

and  although  up  to  this  time  the  old  sacred  language 
had  been  continued,  yet  a  little  while  after  it  will  be 
found  that  even  that  was  gradually  dropped. 

A  new  family  of  rulers  now  enters  the  scene,  and 
heathen  worship  and  heathen  custom,  repudiated  by 
the  earlier  Maccabees,  are  adopted  as  part  of  the 
regular  life  and  type  of  the  Jews. 

The  coin  of  John  Hyrcanus  depicted  may  be  thus 
described  :  the  long  Hebrew  inscription,  which  I 
give  in  English  characters,  filling  the  obverse  of  the 
coin — 


COIN   OF   JOHN    HYRCANUS. 

Obv.  —  Jehochanan  Hakkohen  Haggadol  Rosh 
Cheher  Hajelmdim  =  Johanan  the  High 
Priest  and  Prince  of  the  Senate  of  the 
Jews.     Within  a  wreath  of  olive. 

Rev. — Two  cornucopiae,  between  which  is  a  poppy- 
head. 

Judas  Aristobulus,  his  son,  who  succeeded  him, 
issued  but  few  coins,  as  he  only  reigned  for  one  year. 
His  coin  reads  as  follows — 

Odv. — Jehtidah  Co  J  ten  Gadol  Vecheber  Hajehudini 
=  Judas  the  High  Priest  and  the  Senate 
of  the  Jews. 

Rev. — Very  similar  to  the  last. 


COINED  MONEY  OF  THE  APOCRYPHA 


41 


The  illustration  shows  two  obverses  very  slightly 
differing  one  from  the  other. 


COIN   OF   JUDAS   ARISTOBULUS. 

Alexander  Jannaeus  was  the  next  ruler  (b.  c.  105-78), 
and  he  at  once  married  Salome  (or  Alexandra  in 
Greek),  the  wife  of  his  deceased  brother  Judas.  In 
his  reign  a  great  rebellion  between  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  took  place,  which  was  quelled  only  after 
great  slaughter,  and  the  king  was  pelted  with  ethrogs 
( citrons).  Two  coins  struck  by  this  ruler  are  illustrated, 
as  they  mark  an  epoch  in  Jewish  coinage. 

The  first  is  very  similar  to  those  already  depicted, 
and  reads — Jonathan  Hakkohen  Haggadol  Vecheber 
Hajehudim  =  Jonathan  the  High  Priest  and  the 
Senate  of  the  Jews. 


COIN   OF   ALEXANDER   JANN^US. 


The  other  has  two  new  features.  The  hated  name 
of  king  is  boldly  assumed,  and  on  the  reverse  of  the 
bilingual    coins    appears    for   the    first    time    Greek 


42  THE   MONEY   OF    THE    BIBLE 

characters.     This  coin  was  probably  one  of  the  great 
causes  of  the  revolt  to  which  I  have  just  alluded. 


COIN    OF    ALEXANDER   JANN^US    (WlTH    TITLE    OF    KING). 

It  is  not  necessary  to  review  either  the  events  of 
the  reigns  of  the  rulers  who  successively  followed 
Jannaeus  or  the  coins  issued  by  them.  The  time  was 
one  of  insurrection  and  rebellion.  John  Hyrcanus  II 
sat  on  the  throne  on  three  successive  occasions.  In 
the  intervals  his  brothers  or  other  relatives  drove 
him  away  and  took  his  place,  and  then  his  party 
asserting  its  supremacy  he  returned. 

Alexandra,  the  wife  of  Jannseus,  reigned  for  a  while, 
and  after  her  death  her  son  John  Hyrcanus  succeeded. 
Aristobulus  II,  Alexander  II,  and  Antigonus  also 
reigned,  the  latter  being  defeated  in  B.C.  37  by 
Herod  I,  the  Idumaean,  who  had  married  the  niece 
of  Antigonus ;  and  with  his  death  in  Rome  in  B.C.  37 
the  Asmonaean  dynasty  ended,  and  the  first  of  the 
evil  brood  of  Herods  reigned  over  Judaea. 

There  were  many  coins  issued  of  this  period,  but 
there  is  little  service  in  illustrating  them,  and  attention 
must  now  be  directed  to  the  money  of  the  New 
Testament  under  the  Herodian  dynasty. 


CHAPTER    IV 

NEW   TESTAMENT   MONEY.      COINS   OF   THE    HERODS 

During  the  reign  of  the  last  Asmonaean  ruler 
Judge  a  came  fully  under  the  power  of  Rome,  and 
Antigonus  with  his  father  and  elder  brother  were 
carried  prisoners  by  Pompey  to  Rome.  Antipater 
the  Idumsean,  under  the  Romans,  had  been  actual 
ruler  for  some  time  previous  to  this,  and  his  two. 
sons  Phasael  and  Herod  were  governing  in  Jerusalem 
and  Galilee.  By  the  help  of  the  Parthians,  Antigonus, 
escaping  from  Rome,  regained  his  throne  for  a  brief 
space;  but  eventually  Jerusalem  was  again  besieged 
and  taken.  Antigonus  was  then  executed  by  the 
Romans  at  Antioch,  and  Herod  I,  surnamed  the 
Great,  permitted  as  a  feudatory  vassal  to  ascend  the 
throne. 

The  names  of  Herod  and  his  sons  and  descendants 
are  so  familiar  to  students  of  Holy  Scripture,  that 
although  the  coins  they  actually  issued  are  not 
specifically  named  in  the  New  Testament,  yet  so 
important   are    the   issuers   in   its    history,  that    it    is 


44  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

desirable  some  reference  in  detail  should  be  made 
to  their  coins.  The  coins  depicted  show  for  the  first 
time  inscriptions  wholly  in  Greek,  not  Hebrew,  char- 
acters, and  those  of  the  Herods  are  of  copper  only. 

Herod  I  (surnamed  the  Great),  B.C.  37-4,  was  the 
builder  of  the  beautiful  Temple,  and  he  it  was  who 
ordered  the  massacre  of  the  infants  at  Bethlehem. 
His  cruelties  were  atrocious,  and  despite  the  erection 
of  the  Temple  he  failed  to  win  the  least  affection  from 
the  people  over  whom  he  ruled,  and  died  in  torment, 
universally  hated. 

The  coin  illustrated  is  a  remarkable  piece. 


COIN   OF   HEROD   I    (YEAR   3  =  B.C.  37). 

On  the  obverse  is  a  vessel  with  a  bell-shaped  cover 
and  stand,  above  it  a  star,  and  on  either  side  what  are 
probably  palm  branches. 

The  reverse  reads  BAZIAEHI  HPnAOY,  and  bears 
a  tripod,  to  the  left  of  which  are  the  letters  L  T  signi- 
fying the  third  year,  and  to  the  right  the  monogram  f . 

It  is  impossible  to  say  what  the  curious  device  on 
the  obverse  actually  represents.  No  one  of  the  many 
writers  on  the  subject  have  succeeded  in  determining 


COINS   OF   THE   HERODS  45 

this  moot  question.  Cavedoni  with  great  probability 
suggests  that  it  is  the  censer  carried  by  the  high 
priest  once  a  year  on  the  solemn  Day  of  Atonement 
into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  that  as  Herod  con- 
quered Jerusalem  on  the  very  Day  of  Atonement, 
the  device  would  be  appropriate,  especially  as  a  mark 
of  indignity  toward  the  Jews. 

The  two  palm  branches  may  allude  also  to  this 
victory,  or,  as  Cavedoni  again  suggests,  to  the  '  two 
olive  trees'  of  Zechariah's  vision  (Zech.  iv.  3,  12). 
The  tripod  shows  Herod's  paganizing  spirit,  and 
was  adapted  from  heathen  coins.  The  year  3,  if 
counted  from  Herod's  receipt  of  the  title  of  King 
of  Judaea  from  the  Romans,  would  make  the  date 
716  (B.C.  '^'j).  There  is  a  division  of  opinion  again 
as  to  the  monogram.  Cavedoni  calls  it  the  Crux 
ansaia,  employed  both  on  Egyptian  and  Assyrian 
monuments  as  the  sign  of  life.  De  Saulcy,  on  the 
contrary,  says  it  is  a  mark  of  value,  T  and  P,  a 
contraction  for  TPtas  (three),  or  rather  TViyaXKov. 
Nothing  now  remains  to  refer  to  on  the  coin  but 
the  star,  and  this  is  certainly  a  remarkable  object. 
Cavedoni  suggests  that,  like  the  censer,  it  also  refers 
to  the  victory  over  Jerusalem  ;  but  there  is  just  the 
possibility  remaining  that  it  has  some  connexion 
either  with  the  prophecy  as  to  the  arising  of  a  star 
in  the  East,  or  to  the  expectation  of  some  wonderful 
astronomical  phenomenon,  or  merely  to  an  assumption 
by  Herod,  in  ridicule  of  the  position  of  Him  whose 


46  THE    MONEY   OF   TPIE   BIBLE 

birth  was  to  be  foreshadowed  by  the  appearance  of 
a  star.  It  may  be  equivalent  to  the  announcement 
by  Herod  of  his  rulership  or  messiahship  of  Israel, 
a  profane  sneer  at  Jewish  expectations,  or  the  pro- 
phecy which  the  Jews  believed.  It  is  certainly 
interesting  to  find  a  large  single  noticeable  star  upon 
a  coin  of  Herod. 

Herod  Archelaus,  of  whom  Joseph  was  afraid,  came 
to  the  kingdom  upon  the  death  of  his  father.  He 
was,  however,  only  named  ethnarch  or  ruler  of 
the  nation  by  Augustus,  with  the  promise  of  the 
title  of  king  thereafter,  if  he  reigned  virtuously.  He 
is  the  only  prince  of  Judaea  who  bore  the  title  of 
ethnarch,  which  in  2  Cor.  xi.  32  is  a  title  given  to 
the  King  of  Damascus  :  '  The  governor  under  Aretas 
the  ethnarch  kept  the  city.'  Archelaus  reigned  over 
Judaea,  Idumaea  and  Samaria.  His  coin  reads  as 
follows : — 


COIN    OF    ARCHELAUS. 

Obv. — HPHAOY,  a  bunch  of  grapes  and  a  leaf. 
ie^z;.— E0NAPXOY,  a  helmet  with  tuft  of  feathers 

and  cheek  pieces. 
Next   follows    Herod    Antipas    (B.C.    4-A.D.    39). 
This  is  Herod  the   tetrarch   (Matt.   xiv.   1-3  ;    Luke 


COINS   OF   THE   HERODS  47 

iii.  I,  19;  ix.  7),  Herod  the  king  (Matt.  xiv.  9),  and 
King  Herod  (Mark  vi.  14). 

It  was  before  this  king  that  our  Blessed  Lord  was 
sent  for  examination  when  Pilate  heard  that  He  was 
a  Galilean,  as  Herod  was  tetrarch  of  Galilee.  Pilate 
had  engaged  in  several  disputes  with  the  Galileans, 
and  was  not  on  good  terms  with  Herod.  In  connexion 
with  the  transfer  of  our  Blessed  Lord  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Herod,  the  long-standing  quarrel  between 
the  procurator  and  the  king  was  made  up,  and  Herod 
and  Pilate  again  became  friends  (Luke  xxiii.  12). 
This  is  the  monarch  whose  craftiness  is  alluded  to 
by  our  Lord  in  the  words,  '  Go  ye  and  tell  that  fox ' 
(Luke  xiii.  32). 

He  married  first  the  daughter  of  the  Arabian  king 
Aretas,  but  when  on  a  visit  to  his  half-brother  Philip, 
he  persuaded  his  brother's  wife  Herodias  to  consent 
to  a  secret  union  with  him.  The  Arabian  princess, 
justly  incensed,  returned  to  her  father.  Herod,  under 
the  influence  of  this  new  wife,  whose  union  with 
him  was  soon  made  public,  beheaded  St.  John 
Baptist.  Aretas,  to  revenge  the  insult  to  the  honour 
of  his  daughter,  made  war  against  Herod,  and  defeated 
him  with  great  loss,  but  was  compelled  by  the  power 
of  Rome  to  desist  from  warring  against  the  Roman 
vassal.  Herod  was  the  founder  and  builder  of  the 
city  of  Tiberias,  named  in  honour  of  his  patron, 
the  evil  Emperor  Tiberius.  After  the  death  of  that 
emperor,  Herod    journeyed   to    Rome  to  obtain  the 


4<S  THE    MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

title  of  king,  which  he  had  already  wrongfully  assumed, 
but  which  had  been  given  to  his  nephew  Agrippa  I. 
In  consequence,  however,  of  the  opposition  of  Agrippa, 
Herod  was  deprived  of  his  power,  and  with  Herodias, 
who  stoutly  refused  to  forsake  him  in  his  misfortune, 
was  banished  to  Lyons,  and  afterwards  removing  to 
Spain  died  in  that  country. 

St.  Luke's  words  in  iii.  19,  'for  all  the  evils  which 
Herod  had  done,'  attribute  many  wicked  deeds  to 
this  monarch.  Of  his  fear  and  perplexity  when  he 
heard  of  our  Lord,  we  read  in  the  same  Gospel  (ix.  7) : 
'  Now  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  of  all  that  was  done 
by  Him :  and  he  was  perplexed/&c.  He  it  was  also  who 
endeavoured  by  his  emissaries  to  persuade  our  Lord 


COIN    OF    HEROD    ANTIPAS    (YEAR  33  =  A.D.    29;, 

to  flee  into  Judaea,  by  the  threat  that  '  Herod  wishes 
to  kill  Thee.'     It  was  of  this  evil  ruler,  and  of  his 
influence,  that    the   note  of   warning   was    sounded, 
'  Beware  of  the  leaven  of  Herod  '  (Mark  viii.  15). 
The  coin  of  Herod  Antipas  depicted  reads  : — 
Odz'.—HPix)A0Y     TETPAPXOY,   a    palm    branch 

and  the  letters  LAP  (year  ^^). 
Rev. —  T I  BE  PI  AC  in  two  lines  within  a  wreath. 


COINS   OF   THE    HERODS  49 

There  is  a  solitary  mention  in  St.  Luke's  Gospel 
of  Herod  Philip  II,  under  the  name  of  Philip  the 
tetrarchj  ^JtAtTTTroD  TeTpapxovrros  'his  brother  Philip 
tetrarch  of  Itursea '  (iii.  1);  and  the  reader  must  be 
very  careful  not  to  confuse  this  tetrarch  with  the 
Phihp,  first  husband  of  Herodias,  to  whom  allusion 
has  already  been  made. 

Philip  I,  the  brother  of  Antipas,  is  named  three  times 
in  the  Gospels  (Matt.  xiv.  3,  Mark  vi.  17,  Luke  iii.  19), 
in  each  case  the  same  phrase  being  used,  '  his  brother 
Philip's  wife.'   Of  this  prince  there  are  no  coins  known. 

The  second  Philip  named  by  St.  Luke  reigned  from 


COIN   OF   HEROD   PHILIP   II    (YEAR   37  =  A.D.   33). 

B.C.  4  to  A. D.  34.  He  was  the  son  of  Herod  I  by 
Cleopatra,  and  he  married  Salome,  daughter  of  Herod 
Philip  I  by  Herodias.  His  coins  are  remarkable 
as  bearing  the  effigy  of  the  Roman  emperor,  a  grave 
infringement  of  the  Mosaic  Law  ;  but  they  were  struck 
at  Caesarea  Philippi,  some  distance  from  Jerusalem, 
and  their  issuer  was  hardly  the  man,  as  Mr.  Madden 
points  out,  to  study  the  dictates  of  Mosaic  Law  when 
anxious  to  flatter  the  Roman  power.  The  coin  her^ 
represented  reads  as  follows  : — 

D 


50  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

Obv. — The    head  of   Tiberius   to  the   right,   bare, 
and  before  it  a  branch  of  laurel. 
TIBEPIOC    CEBACTOC    K AlCAP^Tiberius. 

^^^._0IAinnOY  TET[PAPXOY]  z=  Philip  the 
Tetrarch ;  a  temple,  and  between  the 
columns  L  A  Z  (year  '7^'/,  i.e.  A.D.  33-34)- 

The  grandson  of  Herod  I,  named  Herod  Agrippa, 
had  been,  during  the  lives  of  the  rulers  to  whom  refer- 
ence has  already  been  made,  conspiring  to  obtain  their 
kingdom.  In  high  favour  at  Rome  with  the  emperor, 
he  prevented  Antipas  obtaining  the  title  of  king,  and 
when  Antipas  was  banished,  obtained  the  rulership 
of  Galilee  and  Peraea.  Already  he  possessed  Tracho- 
nitis  and  two  other  provinces.  In  A.  D.  41  the  Emperor 
Claudius  gave  him  Judaea,  Samaria,  and  Libanus,  and 
with  these  additions  he  was  practically  master  of 
the  entire  dominions  that  had  been  governed  by 
Herod  I.  He  was  the  son,  it  will  be  noted  from  the 
pedigree,  of  Aristobulus  and  Berenice.  He  was 
a  popular  sovereign  with  the  Jews,  lived  constantly 
in  Jerusalem,  and  gave  strict  attention  to  the 
observances  and  regulations  of  his  people. 

It  was  probably  from  a  desire  to  increase  this 
popularity  that  he  '  stretched  forth  his  hands  to  vex 
certain  of  the  Church'  (Acts  xii.  i).  He  it  was  who 
caused  St.  James  to  be  beheaded,  and  threw  St.  Peter 
into  prison  ;  and  the  chapter  that  records  these  events 
records  also  his  death.  At  Caesarea,  at  the  great  games 
which  he  arranged  in  honour  of  the  emperor,  he  ap- 


COINS   OF   THE   HERODS  5 1 

peared,  according  to  Josephus,  in  a  garment  '  made 
wholly  of  silver,  and  of  a  contexture  truly  wonderful 
....  and  the  silver  of  his  garment  being  illuminated 
by  the  sun  shone  out  after  a  surprising  manner,  and 
was  resplendent  as  to  spread  a  horror  over  those  that 
looked  intently  upon  him.'  His  flatterers  saluted 
him  as  a  god,  and  Josephus  adds,  '  the  king  did  neither 
rebuke  them  nor  reject  their  impious  flattery.'  The 
sacred  narrative  sums  up  the  conclusion  of  the  tragedy 
in  these  words :  '  And  immediately  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  smote  him,  because  he  gave  not  God  the  glory : 
and  he  was  eaten  of  worms,  and  gave  up  the  ghost ' 
(Acts  xii.  23). 

The  story  appears  in  Eusebius  as  well  as  in  Josephus, 
differing  only  in  small  details,  and  it  is  evident  that 
the  attack  that  caused  the  king's  death  was  very 
sudden,  and  looked  upon  both  by  king  and  people  as 
a  Divine  rebuke  to  such  gross  impiety.  The  account 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  should  be  compared 
with  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  Second  Book  of  Macca- 
bees. The  description  there  is  of  the  terrible  death  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  of  the  same  fell  disease.  From 
this  king,  who,  like  Herod  Agrippa,  had  termed  himself 
a  god  on  his  coins,  and  received  the  flattering  praise  of 
his  courtiers,  came  the  touching  words  :  Tt  is  meet  to 
be  subject  unto  God,  and  that  a  man  that  is  mortal 
should  not  proudly  think  of  himself  as  if  he  were 
God'  (2  Mace.  ix.  12). 

The  strictly  Jewish  coin  depicted  of  Agrippa  bears 
D  2 


52 


THE   MONEY    OF    THE   BIBLE 


on  it  a  remarkable  device.  It  may  be  a  tent  or  taber- 
nacle, and  have  some  reference  to  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles, or,  as  Levy  suggests,  with  more  probability,  it 
is  an  umbrella,  the  usual  sign  of  dignity  in  the  East. 


COIN    OF    HEROD    AGRIPPA    I    (YEAR    6  =  A.D.    37). 

The  coin  reads  : — 

6>/^7/.— BACIAEOJC    ArPinA  =  King  Agrippa;    an 

umbrella. 
Rev. — Three  ears  of  corn  springing  from  one  stalk, 

and  on  either  side  the  letters  L  S  (year  6). 

Another  coin  of  Agrippa  is  depicted,  as  the  title 

that  the  king  gives  to  himself  upon  it  is  the  one  to 


COIN    OF    HEROD   AGRIPPA    I. 

which  allusion  is  made  in  John  xix.  12,  'If  thou  let 
this  Man  go,  thou  art  not  Caesar's  friend.'  The 
coin  reads  : — 

(9<^z/.— BACIAEYC  METAC  ATPinnAC  <t)IAO- 
KAI CAP  =  King  Agrippa,  the  great  lover 
of  Caesar  ;  head  of  Agrippa  to  the  right. 


COINS   OF   THE   HERODS 


S^ 


Rev.—Y.K\(:k?\K  H  HPOC  [CEBACTH]  AIMENI  = 

Caesarea    near    the     port    of    Augustus; 

Fortune  standing  to  the  left,  holding  rudder 

and  cornucopia. 

The  last  prince  of  the  race  to  whom  allusion  need 

be  made  is  Agrippa  II,  A.  D.  48-ico.      He  was  the 

son  of  Herod  Agrippa  I  and  Cypros.     Claudius  gave 

him  various  tetrarchies  with  the  title  of  king,  and  Nero 

augmented  his  kingdom  with  possessions  in  Galilee. 

In  A.D.  60,  Agrippa  II,  with  his  sister  Berenice,  visited 

the  Roman  governor  Festus  at  Caesarea,   and   there 

the  Apostle  St.  Paul  was   brought  before  him.     At 

this    interview   Agrippa    made    the   well-known   and 

contemptuous  remark  to  St.   Paul,  '  Thou  wilt  soon 

persuade    me   to    be    a    Christian'    (Acts   xxv.    13; 

xxvi.   2,   28).     (Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  of  St. 

Paid,  ii.  367.) 


COIN   OF    HEROD   AGRIPPA    II. 


The  coin  illustrated  was  struck  by  Agri  ppa  in  the 
time  of  Nero.  Agrippa's  long  reign  was  coincident 
with  that  of  several  emperors  of  Rome,  and  his  coins 
are  therefore  found  bearing  the  effigies  of  several 
emperors.  He  reigned  during  the  time  in  which  the 
Roman  throne  was  occupied  successively  by  Claudius, 


54  THE    MONEY   OF    THE    BIBLE 

Nero,  Galba,  Otho,  Vitellius,  Vespasian,  Titus,  Domi- 
tian,    Nerva,    Trajan.     The  coin  illustrated  reads : — 

Odv.—  HEPnH  KAl[CAP]  =  Nero  Csesar  ;  head  of 
Nero  to  the  right. 

Rev.—EU\  BACIAE  ATPinn  NEPH  NIE,  which 
may  be  read  as,  Money  of  Agrippa  struck 
at  Neronias.  The  words  are  within  an 
olive  wreath. 

Agrippa  changed  the  name  of  the  town  of  Caesarea 
Philippi  to  Neronias,  in  honour  of  the  emperor  his 
patron. 

Ruling  side  by  side  with  the  Herodian  princes 
were  the  procurators  or  governors  whom  the  Roman 
emperors  set  over  Judsea  as  their  especial  repre- 
sentatives. 

It  was  after  the  deposition  of  Archelaus  in  A.  D.  6 
that  Judaea  proper  was  reduced  to  the  level  of  an 
ordinary  Roman  province.  St.  Luke's  Gospel  (ii.  i,  2) 
refers  to  Cyrenius  as  governor  of  Syria,  which  at  that 
time  was  a  similar  Roman  province,  having  its  own 
governor,  as  Judaea  had. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (xxiii.  26)  gives  the  names 
of  Claudius  Felix,  and  (xxiv.  27)  of  PorciusFestns ;  but 
more  important  than  either  of  these  governors  was 
the  infamous  Pontius  Pilate.  The  rule  of  the  Roman 
governors  in  Judaea  lasted  from  A.  D,  6  to  58,  and  there 
were  but  fourteen  of  them  in  all.  Many  of  them 
struck  coins  during  their  governorship,  and  these 
coins  must  have  been  in  constant  circulation  during 


COINS  OF   THE   HERODS  S5 

the  time  of  the  life  of  our  Lord.  The  distinct  sub- 
serviency of  the  governor  to  Rome  and  his  flattery 
of  the  reigning  emperor  is  well  shown  by  these  coins. 
Coponius  was  the  first  procurator,  and  it  was  during 
his  governorship  that  our  Lord  was  discovered  in  the 
Temple  hearing  the  doctors  and  asking  them  questions 
(Luke  ii.  40-50).     His  coin  is  depicted — 


COIN   OF    PROCURATOR    COPONIUS. 

Odv. — KAICAPOC  =  of  Caesar  or  Caesar's,  that   is, 
Money  of  Caesar  or  Caesar's  money  ;  an  ear 
of  corn. 
Rev. — L  AT  {\vKdl3as),  year  ^^;   a  palm-tree,  from 

which  hang  bunches  of  dates. 
The  third  procurator,  Annius  Rufus,  governed  from 
A.  D.  12  to  15,  and  was  superseded  directly  Tiberius 
ascended  the  throne.     This  was  during  the  boyhood 
of  our  Lord. 


COIN    OF   PROCURATOR   ANNIUS    RUFUS    (YEAR   4I:^=A.D.    I4). 

The  coin  depicted  was  struck  by  him  in  the  year 
A.  D.  14.     It  reads — 


56 


THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 


(9^^._KAICAP0C,  as  above. 

Rev. — A  palm-tree  with  dates  and  L  MA  (year  41, 

i.  e.  A.  D.  14). 
The   next   illustration   is   of  the  coin   of  Pontius 
Pilate. 


COIN    OF    PONTIUS    PILATE. 


(9^z;.— TIBEPIOY  KAICAPOC  L  lS  =  [Money]  of 
Tiberius  Caesar,  year  16  (a.  D.  29.) 

The  device  is  said  to  be  that  of  a  sacred  vessel 
presented  to  the  Temple  by  Tiberius. 

Rev.—\O^K\k  KAICAPOC^Money  of  Julia  Caesar; 
three  ears  of  millet  bound  together. 

Julia  was  the  mother  of  Tiberius,  and  possessed  at 
the  time  of  Pilate  great  and  exceptional  power. 

The  coins  of  the  procurators  do  not  exhibit  the 
signs  and  symbols  of  heathen  worship,  as  those  of  the 
Herodians  did  ;  but  the  religious  scruples  of  the  Jews 
were  considered,  and  the  coins  struck  bore  in  most  cases 
symbols  that  would  not  be  abhorrent  to  the  people 
over  whom  the  governors  were  set. 

Of  Felix  and  Festus  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  speak. 
Felix  was  mean  and  cruel,  and  his  readiness  to 
receive  a  bribe  is  mentioned  in  the  description  of  the 
imprisonment  of  St.  Paul  (Acts  xxiv.  26).  His  wife 
Drusilla   is    also    named    in   the   narrative,  and    was 


COINS   OF   THE    HERODS  57 

with  him  at  C^sarea  (Acts  xxiv.  24).  Felix  did 
some  good  service  to  the  country,  clearing  it  of 
impostors,  rogues  and  vagabonds,  and  to  his  good 
deeds  Tertullus  in  his  oration  bore  witness  (Acts 
xxiv.  2). 

Porcius  Festus,  with  whom  Agrippa  stayed,  suc- 
ceeded Felix  in  A.D.  60,  but  died  in  A.  D.  62. 

Albinus  and  Gessius  Florus  succeeded  him,  and 
with  the  last  infamous  man  the  rule  of  the  procurators 
ceased. 

It  may  be  well  in  the  very  hasty  review  that  I  am 
making  of  the  numismatic  history  of  the  Jewish 
people,  to  delay  for  a  space  consideration  as  to  the 
revolts  of  the  Jews  against  the  Roman  power  that 
followed  the  rule  of  Gessius  Florus,  and  led  to  the 
ultimate  conquest  of  Jerusalem. 

Consideration  will  now  be  given  to  the  money 
actually  named  in  the  New  Testament. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   COINS   ACTUALLY    NAMED   IN   THE    NEW 
TESTAMENT 

There  are  certain  Greek  coins  named  in  the  New 
Testament  that  claim  first  attention.  I  have  ah'eady 
referred  to  the  complicated  condition  of  Jewish  money 
in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  Currency  must  have  con- 
sisted of  a  great  variety  of  coins— money  of  Greece, 
imperial  money  of  Rome,  Herodian  money,  money 
struck  by  the  Roman  procurators,  Roman  provincial 
money,  as  of  Syria  and  Antioch,  actual  Jewish  money 
struck  by  the  Asmonaean  dynasty  and  Herodian  rulers, 
and  very  possibly  coins,  still  remaining  in  occasional 
use,  of  silver  as  struck  by  Ezra.  It  is  the  fact  that  repre- 
sentatives of  almost  all  these  varying  currencies  are 
named  in  the  New  Testament,  and  that  some  sort  of 
adjustment  of  value  existed  between  one  coin  and 
another,  that  renders  so  puzzling  to  a  novice  the  allu- 
sions in  the  New  Testament  to  coins.  It  may  at  the 
outset  be  pointed  out  that  according  to  the  value  of 


COINS   NAMED   IN    THE    NEW   TESTAMENT        59 

silver,  a  rough  table  had  been  drawn  up  at  the  time 
of  our  Lord  as  to  the  corresponding  value  of  these 
various  coins.     Thus  : — 

a.  A  Greek  dram  or  drachma^  the  piece  of  money- 
lost  by  the  woman,  was  about  equal  in  value  to  the 
Roman  denarms  '  penny,'  or  civil  tribute  money. 

b.  Two  of  these  Greek  drams  formed  a  didrachma, 
which  was  the  sacred  tribute  money  (not  Roman),  the 
payment  toward  the  Temple  sustenance,  willingly  paid 
by  every  Jew  (Matt.  xvii.  24).  This  coin  also  about 
equalled  in  value  half  a  shekel,  which  was  the  old 
Temple  tribute. 

c.  Four  of  the  Greek  drams  formed  a  tetradrachma^ 
which  equalled  four  denarii  (or  pennies  in  the  Autho- 
rized Version),  the  Roman  tribute ;  or  two  didrachmas, 
the  sacred  Jewish  tribute  ;  or  one  stater,  the  coin  found 
in  the  fish's  mouth  (Matt.  xvii.  27). 

We  therefore  arrive  at  this  table  of  varying  equiva- 
lents : — 

1  Greek  drachma  or  dram    ^  i  Roman  denarius  or  penny. 

2  Greek  drachmae  or  drams  —  2  denarii  =  i  didrachma  =  half  a  shekel. 

4  Greek  drachmae  or  drams  =  4  denarii  =  i  tetradrachma  =  2  didrachmae 

=  I  stater  -  i  shekel. 

To  take  the  unit  first. 

The  Greek  drachma  is  but  once  mentioned  in  the 
New  Testament :  '  Either  what  woman  having  ten 
pieces  of  silver  (6pax/xas  SeV-a).' —  Luke  xv.  8. 

The  coin  in  our  currency  at  the  price  of  silver  would 
be  in  value  about  eightpence. 


6o  THE  monp:y  of  the  bible 

This  coin,  as  shown  above,  is  about  equal  to  the 
Roman  denarius,  penny  or  tribute  money. 

The  next  coin  is  the  one  double  in  value  to  the  last. 
It  is  the  didrachm  or  didrachma,  equal  in  value  to 
two  drachmae  or  two  denarii,  and  about  equal  to  half 
a  Jewish  shekel.  This  was  the  voluntary,  willing 
tribute  money  of  half  a  shekel  paid  by  the  Jews 
towards  the  sustenance  of   the  Temple  (Exod.  xxx. 

i3>  15)- 

It  is  found  demanded  in  the  reign  of  Joash  (2  Chron. 
xxiv.  9).  On  account  of  the  poverty  of  the  people 
it  was  reduced,  in  the  time  of  Nehemiah,  to  a  third 
of  a  shekel  (Nehem.  x.  32);  but  it  comes  back  in  New 
Testament  times  to  half  a  shekel,  equivalent  at  that 
time  to  a  didrachma.  TTpoo-rjkOov  ol  ra  bibpa)(^fxa  kaixj^a- 
voi'T^s  Tw    Ilerpa)  (Matt.  xvii.  24,  27). 

This  was  a  tribute  not  enforced  by  law,  and  there- 
fore the  words  of  our  Blessed  Lord  have  a  marked 
and  wonderful  significance  :  '  Of  whom  do  the  kings 
of  the  earth  take  custom  or  tribute?  of  their  own 
children  or  of  strangers  ? '  Taking  the  same  reckoning 
as  adopted  heretofore,  we  may  place  this  coin  as  worth 
about  one  shilling  and  fourpence. 

Next  the  four- drachm  piece  claims  attention.  This 
is  equal  to  four  denarii,  and  about  equal  to  a  Jewish 
shekel.  It  is  called  a  tetradrachm  or  stater,  and  is  the 
coin  found  by  St.  Peter  in  the  mouth  of  the  fish,  suffi- 
cient to  pay  the  Temple  tribute  for  two  persons.  koI 
avoi^as  to  aT6\xa  avrov  ^vpi](T€Ls  (TTaTijpa  (Matt.  xvii.  27). 


COINS   NAMED    IN   THE    NEW    TESTAMENT        6l 

As  a  proof  of  the  minute  accuracy  of  the  evangelist, 
it  should  be  noted  that  the  didrachm  had  at  the  time 
fallen  into  disuse  ;  and  Mr.  Poole  points  out  that  had 
two  didrachmae  been  found  in  the  fish,  the  receivers 
of  tribute  would  hardly  have  accepted  them,  but  the 
stater  actually  found  was  their  equivalent,  and  gladly 
taken.     The  stater  illustrated  is  of  Antioch. 


STATER   OF   AUGUSTUS. 


The  obverse  reads  (translated)  '  [Money]  of  Caesar 
Augustus,'  and  has  the  laureated  head  of  the  emperor. 

The  reverse  shows  the  genius  of  the  city  seated 
with  her  foot  upon  a  figure  representing  the  river- 
god  Orontes,  and  the  words  the  30th  year  of  the 
victory  [i.e.  Actium].  The  word  stater  means 
simply  standard^  a  coin  of  a  certain  full  and  definite 
weight ;  and  the  use  of  the  word  in  this  instance  is  to 
a  scholar  very  strong  evidence  that  the  Gospel  of 
St.  Matthew  was  written  in  about  the  first  century, 
when  coins  the  equivalent  of  a  pure  silver  tetra- 
drachm  were  known  as  staters. 

Another  stater  which  is  here  illustrated  is  one  of 
the  staters  of  Rhodes,  bearing  on   the  obverse  the 


62 


THE    MONEY   OF   THE    BIBLE 


head  of  Apollo,  god  of  day  and  patron  of  the  island, 
and  on  the  reverse  an  opening  eastern  rose,  pohov^ 
a  play  upon  the  name  of  the  place  'P0609,  engraved  on 
the  coin  as  POAIN.  The  references  to  the  Isle  of 
Rhodes  in  the   Acts    of    the   Apostles  (xxi.   i)  and 


STATER   OF    RHODES,   WITH    FLOWERS. 


to  the  maid  Rhoda  (xii.  13),  give  an  interest  to  this 
coin,  as  well  as  the  references  in  the  Bible  to  the  rose  — 
The  rose  of  Sharon  (Cant  ii.  i)  and  'The  desert  shall 
blossom  as  the  rose  '  (Isa.  xxxv.  i).  The  flower  that 
is  named  differs  considerably  from  our  English  rose. 
The  value  of  a  stater  in  English  money  according 


COINS    NAMED   IN   THE    NEW   TESTAMENT        63 

to  the  scale  that  I  have  adopted,  may  be  roughly 
taken  at  two  shillings  and  eightpence.  The  lesson 
that  our  Divine  Lord  taught  specially  in  the  miracle  by 
which  the  stater  was  produced  is  a  very  clear  one.  '  If 
earthly  kings  do  not  receive  tribute  from  their  children,' 
would  be  our  Lord's  argument  to  St.  Peter,  '  then  am 
I  who  am  the  Son  of  God  excused  by  their  custom 
from  paying  anything  to  God.  Nevertheless,  lest  we 
should  give  them  the  opportunity  to  say  that  I  despise 
the  Temple  and  its  services,  and  teach  My  disciples  so 
to  do,  take  the  money,  and  pay  for  thee  and  for  Me.' 

Once  again  we  find  this  coin,  the  tetradrachm, 
stater,  or  shekel,  used  in  the  Gospels.  The  money 
received  for  the  betrayal  of  our  Blessed  Lord 
was  thirty  pieces  of  silver  {rpiaKovra  apyvpia)  (Matt, 
xxvi.  15,  xxvii.  3,  5,  6,  9).  Here  are  simply  used 
the  Greek  words  for  silver  or  money  (thirty  of  silver). 
The  Old  Testament^gives  the  explanation,  and  this 
explanation  was  first  suggested  by  Mr.  Poole.  In 
Exod.  xxi.  32  the  price  of  blood  for  one  who  was  killed 
by  misadventure  was  fixed  at  thirty  shekels  of  silver. 

St.  Matthew's  Gospel  refers  the  prophecy  as  to 
the  betrayal  of  our  Lord  to  the  prophet  Jeremiah. 
This  is  an  error  probably  on  the  part  of  an  early 
transcriber,  as  de  Saulcy  pointed  out  that  the  Syriac 
version  of  the  Gospel  gives  only  the  words,  '  the 
prophet,'  and  gives  no  name.  The  actual  passage 
to  which  reference  is  made  is  in  Zech.  xi.  12,  13, 
and  there  reference  is  clearly  made  to  the  shekels  in 


64  THE    MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

use  at  that  time.  In  the  time  of  our  Lord  there  were 
no  shekels  current  (save  perhaps  a  few  of  the  old  ones), 
although  money  was  reckoned  in  shekels,  very  much 
as  in  the  present  day  reckonings  are  made  in  guineas, 
although  no  coin  of  the  value  of  a  guinea  is  in  use. 
The  tetradrachm  or  stater  was,  as  has  been  already 
said,  nearly  equivalent  in  value  to  the  shekel,  and  it 
was  almost  certainly  this  coin  that  was  intended  in  the 
passages  Matt.  xxvi.  15,  and  xxvii.  3,  5,  6,  9,  in  which 
the  betrayal  is  named. 

Before  leaving  the  series  of  Greek  coins  named  in 
the  New  Testament,  there  is  one  more  to  which 
attention  must  be  given. 

The  smallest  coin  current  in  Athens  was  the  lepton, 
the  seventh  part  of  the  chalcus  (xaAKoj).  The  name 
of  this  Greek  coin  is  twice  used  in  the  New  Testament, 
both  passages  describing  the  gift  of  the  widow  into 
the  chest  at  the  Temple,  and  translated  '  two  mites,' 
AeTrra  hvo  6  eort  Kobpdvrrjs.  It  is,  however,  perfectly 
certain  that  the  actual  coins  cast  into  the  chest  were 
not  Greek  /epta,  inasmuch  as  the  people  were  not 
permitted  to  bring  any  but  Jewish  coins  into  the 
Temple  precincts.  The  coins  of  their  conquerors 
were  not  permitted,  and  hence  the  need  of  the  '  tables 
of  the  money-changers  '  (see  p.  75).  The  coins  struck 
by  the  Maccabaean  ruler  Alexander  Jannaeus  (B.C. 
105-78),  who  was  known  on  his  coins  as  Jonathan  only, 
were  very  popular  with  the  Jews  for  Temple  gifts, 
inasmuch  as  they  were  so  thoroughly  Jewish  in  their 


COINS   NAMED   IN    THE    NEW   TESTAMENT        65 

inscriptions  and  devices.  The  smallest  copper  coin 
of  this  prince  is  probably  the  one  to  which  allusion  is 
made  by  the  Synoptists,  Mark  xii.  42,  Luke  xii.  6, 
and  xxi.  2. 

The  coin  is  here  represented. 


COIN    OF   ALEXANDER    JANN/EUS. 

Obv,—  njnr 

anMD 

Jonathan     Hakkohen     Haggadol     Vecheber 
Hajehtidim  —  Jonathan   the   High   Priest 
and  the  Confederation  (or  Senate)  of  the 
Jews,  within  a  wreath  of  olive. 
Rev. — Two  cornucopiae  and  a  poppy  head. 
The  Gospels  of  Ulphilas,  the  Gothic  Bishop  of  31 1, 
in   rendering    the   passage   Mark  xii.   42,    give    the 
value  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  styca  and  penny. 

tpejen  j^ticaj^,  *^  if,  peop^unj  pennin^ep. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  in  considering  this 
gift  of  the  widow,  that  it  was  a  voluntary  offering,  and 
not  a  tribute,  so  far  at  least  as  any  offering  to  God 
can  be  voluntary.  It  may  perhaps  be  taken  as  a  type 
of  the  offertory  of  the   Church,  the  contributions  of 

E 


66  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

the  faithful,  the  giving  to  God  of  His  own,  laid  on  His 
altar,  a  holy  oblation  acceptable  to  the  Lord. 

Leaving  Greek  currency,  it  is  well  to  consider  the 
Roman  money  named  in  the  New  Testament ;  and 
attention  is  at  once  claimed  by  the  words  which  are 
in  the  Authorized  Version  very  much  mistranslated  as 
farthmg. 

In  Matt.  X.  29  there  is  the  word  assarion,  trans- 
lated farthings  Ovy)i.  bvo  crrpovBia  aaaapCov  TTcoA-ctrat  ; 
'  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing  ?  ' 

In  Luke  xii.  6  is  the  same  word  in  the  Authorized 
Version.  The  Vulgate  gives  it  more  accurately  as 
'  7ionne  qiiinque  passer es  veneunt  dipo7idio? '  '  Are  not 
five  sparrows  sold  for  a  dipondius  (two  farthings)  ? ' 
as  the  word  here  used  is  the  name  of  the  coin 
equivalent  to  two  assaria — that  is,  a  dipo7idius. 

In  Matt.  V.  26  and  Mark  xii.  42  '  the  uttermost 
farthing,'  and  '  two  mites,  which  make  one  farthing,'  a 
third  word  is  used,  KobpdvTr]9,  again  translated '  farthing.' 
Here,  therefore,  are  no  less  than  three  coins,  the  as 
or  assarion,  the  dipondius  or  two-as  piece,  and  the 
quadrans  or  fourth  of  an  as,  all  translated  with  much 
confusion  by  one  English  word,  farthing. 

The  as  or  assarion  was  the  original  Roman  coin. 
It  was  at  one  time  the  unit  in  Roman  numeration 
both  of  weight  and  currency,  and  very  early  ones 
bearing  the  devices 

Odv. — The  head  of  Janus  Bifrons, 

Kev. — The  prow  of  a  ship  and  the  figure  i, 


COINS   NAMED   IN   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT       67 

are  known  weighing  nearly  a  pound  each,  and  struck 
in  bronze. 

In  process  of  time  the  as  was  reduced  in  size  from 
its  unwieldy  original  character,  until  after  many  re- 
ductions, both  in  size  and  value,  it  became  a  coin  of 
about  the  size  of  an  English  halfpenny.  The  Greeks 
adopted  the  name  of  the  coin,  and  used  it  upon  their 
autonomous  coins,  calling  them  aaaapLMv.  Whether, 
therefore,  the  coin  to  which  allusion  is  made  in  Matt. 
X.  29  was  the  Greek  inscribed  coin  of  Antioch  in  Syria, 
or  the  Roman  inscribed  coin  bearing  the  mystic 
letters  S.  C.  (Senatus  consulto),  it  is  not  possible  with 
an  absolute  certainty  to  tell.  Illustrations  of  each  are 
given.    The  first,  the  Roman  coin,  is  one  of  Augustus, 


COIN   OF    AUGUSTUS. 


bearing  the  emperor's  name  and  titles,  and  the  second 
the  Greek  inscribed  one  of  Gadara  in  Decapolis. 

This  latter  coin  is  one  of  peculiar  interest,  inasmuch 
as  Gadara  (FAAAPA)  was  named  in  Holy  Scripture, 
Mark  v.  i.  Issued  by  a  pagan  population,  it  bears 
the  head  of  Nero  NEPHN  Caesar  (KAI)SAP  on  the 
obverse,   and    the   goddess  Astarte   on  the   reverse, 

^  This  block  has  been  drawn  a  little  too  large. 
E  2 


68 


THE    MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 


holding   a   garland    and    cornucopia,   and    the   date 
letters. 


COIN    OF    GADARA, 


The  second  word  translated  '  farthing '  is  in  Luke 
xii.  6,  aa-aapLcov  bvo,  and  here  it  is  quite  clear  a  single 
coin,  value  two  assaria,  is  intended  by  the  expression. 
The  Greek  assaria  were  so  issued,  but 
although  the  value  of  the  piece  may 
have  been  i,  2,  or  3  assaria,  and  was  so 
designated  upon  its  face,  yet  in  many 
cases  the  size  of  the  coin  altered  not, 
and  the  coin  of  the  largest  value  was  the 
same  size  as  the  coin  of  the  smallest. 
An  illustration  is  given  of  an  African 
coin,  issued  about  the  time  of  Julius 
Caesar,  in  order  to  show  the  size  of 
the  dipondius. 

In  the  third  passage  there  is  a  dis- 
tinctively Roman  coin  mentioned  by 
its  Greek  name.  The  passages  are  in 
Matt.  V.  26  and  Mark  xii.  42,  and  the 
word  used  is  KohpdvT-qs,  the  Latin  quadrans,  the  fourth 
part  of  a  Roman  as. 

Cicero  writes  that  in  his  time  this  was  the  smallest 
Roman  coin  (Plutarch  in  Cic.  xxix.  26). 


COIN  OF  JUBA 
KING  OF  NUMIDIA 


COINS   NAMED   IN    THE   NEW    TESTAMENT        69 

This  coin  weighed  about  0^^  grains,  and  may  be 
roughly  estimated  as  having  a  value  of  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  farthing,  while  the  assarion  weighed 
about  140  grains,  and  would  have  a  value  of  about 
three-quarters  of  a  penny^  and  the  dipondius  was 
worth  two  assaria.  This  quadrans  was  the  smallest- 
sized  Roman  bronze  coin,  and  much  smaller  than  an 
English  farthing. 

The  Roman  penny  or  denarius  is  repeatedly  named 
in  Holy  Scripture. 

a.  The  parable  of  the  unforgiving  servant,  '  an 
hundred  pence,'  Matt,  xviii.  2S. 

b.  The  labourers  in  the  vineyard,  '  a  penny  a  day,' 
Matt.  XX.  2,  9,  10,  33. 

c.  The  tribute  money,  'a  penny,'  Matt.  xxii.  19; 
Mark  xii.  15  ;  Luke  xx.  24. 

d.  The  feeding  of  the  five  thousand^  '  two  hundred 
pennyworth  of  bread,'  Mark  vi.  o^^]  ;  John  vi.  7. 

e.  The  value  of  the  box  of  ointment,  'three  hundred 
pence,'  Mark  xiv.  5  ;  John  xii.  5. 

/.  The   parable   to    Simon,  'five   hundred   pence,' 
'  fifty  pence,'  Luke  vii.  41. 
g.  The  Good   Samaritan's  gift,  'two  pence,'  Luke 

h.  The  price  of  wheat  and  barley  at  the  opening  of 
the  seal  in  heaven,  '  a  penny,'  Rev.  vi.  6. 

There  is  no  doubt  whatever  as  to  the  coin  that  is 
here  named.  In  every  case  it  is  the  Roman  denarius, 
and  it  would  have  been  far  better  had  the  translators 


70  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

used  this  word  denarius  rather  than  the  misleadincr 
one  of  penny,  as  the  coin  named  was  in  every  case  of 
silver,  and  not  of  copper.  One  of  these  denarii  is 
here  depicted. 


DENARIUS   OR    PENNY. 


The  denarius  was  the  legal  and  obligatory  tribute 
money  that  the  Jews  were  compelled  to  pay  to  their 
conquerors  the  Romans,  and  was  typical  of  their 
subjugation  and  conquest.  Tiberius  was  the  emperor 
reigning  in  Rome  at  the  time  that  the  words  of  our 
Divine  Lord  were  spoken  as  to  the  tribute  money 
(see  above  c),  and  it  is  very  probable  that  the  coin 
that  was  presented  to  the  Great  Teacher  was  a  coin 
of  the  reigning  emperor. 

The  illustration  may  then  depict  the  coin  that  was 
brought  to  our  Lord  by  the  Pharisees,  and  illustrate 
the  denarius  named  in  each  of  the  other  passages. 
The  inscription  reads  as  follows  : — 

Odv. — Tl[berius]  '  CESAR    DIVI     AUG[usti]    F[ilius] 
AUGUSTUS  ; 
that  is  to  say,  Tiberius  Caesar  Augustus,  son  of  the 
god  Augustus. 

Rev. — PONTlF[ex]  maxim  [us]  =  Pontifex  Maximus, 
Chief  Priest. 


COINS   NAMED   IN    THE   NEW   TESTAMENT         7 1 

The  missing  letters  of  the  abbreviated  words  are 
supplied  in  brackets. 

The  wonderfully  searching  reply  of  the  Great 
Teacher  to  the  question  that  was  put  to  Him  is  at 
once  apparent.  If  they,  the  Jews,  had  by  circulating 
and  using  Roman  money  bearing  upon  it  the  head  and 
name  of  Caesar  acknowledged  the  rule  of  the  Imperial 
Caesar,  they  had  themselves  practically  answered 
their  own  ensnaring  question.  This  coin  may  be  taken 
as  roughly  equivalent  in  value  to  about  eightpence 
halfpenny  of  English  money.  It  was  the  pay  of 
a  Roman  soldier  per  day,  and  was  considered  very 
liberal  recompense,  if  not  extravagant  pay,  in  the  time 
of  our  Lord,  for  an  agricultural  labourer  per  day  :  see 
Matt.  XX.  2,  9,  lo,  13  (above  b\  and  Tobit  v.  14  for 
a  similar  passage.  It  was  the  usual  and  chief  money  of 
account  in  use  at  the  time,  and  larger  amounts  were 
rendered  in  multiples  of  denarii  (see  above  d,  e^f).  Its 
weight  was  about  sixty  grains.  The  reference  in  the 
Apocalypse  is  to  famine  prices  of  food,  the  excessive 
taxation,  to  which  Gibbon  alludes  at  length  as  one  of 
the  causes  of  the  fall  of  Rome,  having  since  the  time 
of  Caracalla  produced  great  scarcity,  and  but  a  chaenix, 
or  about  a  quart  of  wheat,  could  be  obtained  for 
a  denarius. 

There  is  another  mention  of  this  coin  in  the  New 
Testament  that  would  not  be  at  first  noticed.  It  is 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (xix.  19),  and  the  word 
used    is  apyvpia  ^silvers,'  translated   pieces   of  silver. 


72  THE    MONEY   OF   THE    BIBLE 

There  is  but  little  doubt,  however,  that  denarii  are 
here  intended,  and  the  phrase  would  be  more  correctly 
translated  using  the  name  of  that  coin.  It  is  quite 
possible  that  the  ten  lost  pieces  of  silver  drachms 
or  drams  {hpaxfJ-as  biKa),  Luke  xv.  8,  9,  to  which 
allusion  has  ah'eady  been  made,  may  have  been 
denarii;  because,  as  I  have  pointed  out,  the  value  at 
that  time  of  the  denarius  and  dram  was  equivalent. 

The  references  to  the  coin  cannot  fail  to  bring  to 
mind  many  important  thoughts. 

The  penitential  love  of  Mary  Magdalene  (see 
passages  e  and/),  the  word  of  wondrous  truth  that 
briefly  inculcates  our  duty  to  God  and  the  State  (see 
passages  c),  the  generous  gift  of  the  Good  Samaritan 
(see  passage  g),  the  lavish  payment  made  by  the 
Divine  Creator  to  the  workers  in  His  vineyard, 
infinitely  exceeding  their  merit  or  right  (see  pas- 
sages d),  the  blessings  of  temporal  and  sustaining 
food  in  hunger,  and  of  spiritual  refreshment  in  His 
Holy  Church  (see  passages  d),  and  the  gift  of  His 
pardoning  mercy  to  us  unfaithful  and  unprofit- 
able servants  (see  passage  a).  Many  of  the  New 
Testament  coins,  as  has  been  wisely  said,  connect 
our  thoughts  with  distinct  teaching  in  the  sayings 
and  Hfe  of  our  Blessed  Saviour.  The  shekel  calls 
to  mind  the  price  paid  in  the  Temple  for  His 
betrayal.  The  didrachma.  His  earnest  endeavour  to 
reclaim  the  lost  child  from  sin,  under  the  emblem 
of    the    lost   coin.      The   lepton,    His   words   as   to 


COINS    NAMED   IN    THE   NEW   TESTAMENT 


n 


worshipping  God  with  our  substance,  and  the  duty 
of  charity.  The  stater,  the  double  lesson  of  willing 
service  to  God,  His  house,  and  His  Church,  and 
the  warning  against  the  covetousness  that  would  for 
gain  of  silver  sacrifice  the  Lord  of  Glory ;  and  the 
denarius,  the  conscientious  submission  to  the  sovereign 
power,  not  less  as  an  act  of  brotherly  love  than  as 
distinctively  a  part  of  Christianity. 

It  may  be  remarked  by  the  way  that  the  title  of 
Saviour  or  Redeemer  was  not  one  of  itself  unknown 
to  the  Greeks,  although  the  idea  of  Divine  self- 
sacrifice  was  not  in  the  least  anticipated  by  them  in 
their  mythology. 

The  following  coin,  bearing  the  head  of  Apollo, 
describes  him  as  Saviour,  and  reads — AnOAAHN 
SriTHP. 


COIN    REPRESENTING   APOLLO    WITH   THE   TITLE    OF   SAVIOUR. 


When  the  New  Testament  speaks  of  money  in 
a  general  sense,  it  does  not  always  use  the  same  word. 
In  the  following  passages  the  word  used  is  apyvpiov 
(silver). 


74  THE   MONEY   OF  THE   BIBLE 

Matt.  XXV.  18-27 — The  parable  of  the  talents,  the 
word  talent  being  only  used  as  signifying  a  certain 
weight  of  silver. 

Matt,  xxviii.  12-15 — Money  given  to  the  soldiers 
by  the  elders  to  prevent  the  story  of  the  Resurrection 
being  spread  abroad. 

Mark  xiv.  11  ;  Luke  xxii.  5 — Money  promised  to 
Judas  by  the  priests. 

Matt.  X.  9  ;  Luke  ix.  3 — Money  not  to  be  carried 
by  the  apostles  when  on  their  journey. 

Luke  xix.  15-23 — Parable  of  the  ten  pieces  of 
money  (silver). 

Acts  vii.  16 — The  mention  by  St.  Stephen  in  his 
address  of  the  purchase  by  Abraham  of  the  cave 
of  Machpelah. 

Acts  viii.  20 — St.  Peter's  words  to  Simon  Magus. 

In  Matt.  xxvi.  9,  the  phrase  is '  this  ointment  might 
have  sold  for  vmchl  and  money  is  understood ;  the 
parallel  passages  showing  that  denarii  were  intended. 

In  two  passages  in  St.  Mark  the  word  used  is  xaKKov, 
copper  money. 

Mark  vi.  8  —  The  prohibition  to  the  apostles  to 
carry  money. 

Mark  xii.  41 — The  gifts  to  the  Treasury. 

This  word  also  occurs  in  Matt.  x.  9,  in  conjunction 
with  the  words  '  gold  and  silver.' 

In  the  former  set  of  passages  reference  is  clearly 
made  to  silver  money — that  is  to  say,  to  drachms, 
staters,  denarii,  or  the  old  shekels  of  Ezra,  if  any 


COINS   NAMED    IN  THE   NEW   TESTAMENT        75 

remained  ;  in  the  latter  passages  the  Herodian 
copper  coinage,  or  the  small  and  unimportant  copper 
money  of  Greek  or  Roman  issue.  The  lessons 
impressed  by  the  latter  passages  may  well  derive 
an  added  value  by  the  unimportant  character  and 
trivial  worth  of  the  money  to  which  the  evangelist 
alludes. 

In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  word  translated 
'  money'  in  iv.  37,  where  it  was  laid  by  Barnabas 
at  the  feet  of  the  apostles,  should  be  more  strictly 
rendered /r^V^,  value ^  full  vahie,  the  amount  actually 
obtained,  the  word  used  being  xpriixa  [pretmm).  This 
word  is  used  also  in  its  significance  of  the  price  or 
value  of  a  man,  the  price  that  will  obtain  favour, 
in  the  passage  where  Felix  hoped  to  have  received 
a  bribe  as  to  the  freedom  of  St.  Paul — that  is  to  say, 
to  receive  his  price.  Acts  xxiv.  26. 

The  word  apyvpiov  is  also  to  be  found  in  four  other 
passages,  and  in  all  these  reference  is  made  to  silver 
money,  and  the  word  is  rightly  translated  '  silver.'  The 
passages  are  : — 

Acts  iii.  6 — '  Silver  and  gold  have  I  none.' 
Acts  XX.  y^ — '  I  have  coveted  no  man's  silver.' 
Jas.  V.  3 — '  Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered." 
I   Pet.  i.   18  —  'Corruptible   things,  as   silver  and 
gold.' 

Allusion  has  already  been  briefly  made  to  a  further 
reference  to  money — the  interesting  passages  as  to 
the  '  tables  of  the  money-changers.'     Mr.  Madden  was 


76  THE   MONEY   OF   THE    BIBLE 

one  of  the  earliest  to  point  out  the  striking  divergence 
between  the  three  words  used  in  the  New  Testament, 
all  of  which  the  Authorized  Version  translates  in 
a  similar  way. 

In  Matt.  XXV.  27  is  used  the  word  rpa-neCir^s  (trape- 
zites,  exchangers),  and  this  word  is  also  used  by 
St.  Luke  in  xix.  23,  where  '  paying  into  the  bank  ' 
is  the  translation.  Here  is  seen  a  word  that  refers 
to  private  bankers  or  money  exchangers,  and  is  simply 
derived  from  the  table,  rpaTrefa,  at  which  the  bankers 
sat,  in  the  same  manner  as  we  derive  our  words  bank, 
banker,  &c.  from  the  bench  of  the  Italian  money- 
changer (e.  g.  ba7ica  I'otta  '  broken  bench '  in  Italian, 
because  the  money-changer's  bench  was  broken  on 
his  failure,  hence  '  bankrupt  '). 

The  original  word  rpan^Ca  [trapeza)  occurs  in  Matt. 
xxi.  12,  Mark  xi.  15,  and  John  ii.  15,  where  reference 
is  made  to  the  money-changers  in  the  Temple  ;  but 
in  these  passages  it  simply  means  the  tables  at  which 
the  men  sat,  and  is  translated  correctly  '  tables.' 

The  official  money-changers,  to  which  reference 
must  next  be  made,  had  their  tables,  as  did  the 
private  exchangers ;  but  it  is  important  to  notice 
that  Matt.  xxv.  27  and  Luke  xix.  23  refer  to  the 
private  traders,  whereas  these  next  passages  refer  to 
men  of  a  different  standing. 

The  recognized  officials  who  changed  foreign,  i.e. 
pagan,  money  into  Jewish  money,  which  alone  could 
be  used  in  the  Temple,  are  called  by  the  evangelists 


COINS    NAMED    IN   THE    NEW   TESTAMENT       77 

St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark  ko\\v[3l(7T(ov  {kollibiston). 
This  word  is  derived  from  koWv^os  {collybus)^  and  the 
collybus  was  in  all  probability  a  tiny  silver  coin,  the 
very  smallest  piece  of  silver  money  in  use,  but  not  other- 
wise alluded  to  in  the  New  Testament.  St.  John  in  ii. 
14  and  15  uses  another  word,  Kep/xarioras,  and  for  money 
the  similar  word  to  Kkp\xa.  This  word  Kepjuario-ray  is 
derived  from  Kecpco,  'to  cut  off  or  cut  up  small/  the  noun 
being  cut-up  pieces,  i.e.  small  pieces  of  money.  This 
was  the  official  and  technical  term  for  those  who 
certainly  had  an  official  status,  as  KoAAv^to-r?}?  was 
a  more  ordinary  term  ;  but  as  St.  John  clearly  alludes 
to  a  different  occasion  from  that  named  by  the  evan- 
gelists St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark,  he  may  be  perhaps 
alluding  to  a  public  State  banker  at  the  Temple,  and 
who  more  than  the  others  would  have  conceived  it  his 
right  to  trade  within  the  holy  precincts. 

The  necessary  changing  of  the  foreign  money  and 
money  of  their  conquerors  into  local  Jewish  money 
had  degenerated  into  a  vicious  and  usurious  habit, 
and  was  carried  on  at  last  actually  inside  the  Temple. 
It  received  the  strongest  condemnation  from  our 
Blessed  Lord,  and  by  Him  the  bankers,  private,  public 
or  official,  were  driven  from  His  Father's  house. 

As  three  words  are  in  the  foregoing  passages  used 
in  speaking  of  the  money-changers,  so  three  separate 
words  are  used  in  the  New  Testament  in  speaking  of 
the  treasury  or  treasure. 

1 .  The  first  yaC,Q(^v\aKiov  [gazophylacmni]^  from  yafy. 


78  THE   MONEY   OF   THE    BIBLE 

'  a  treasure '  and  (pvKaaa-o)  '  to  keep,'  is  used  in  the 
references  to  the  gift  of  the  widow's  mite  into  the 
treasury  when  our  Lord  was  sitting  near  by  (Mark  xii. 
41-43  ;  Luke  xxi.  i  ;  John  viii.  20).  The  noun  yafa 
appears  in  Acts  viii.  27,  in  speaking  of  the  treasure  of 
Candace. 

The  similar  word  in  Hebrew  appears  often  in  the 
Old  Testament  for  treasures,  as  for  example  in  Ezra 
V.  17,  vi.  I,  vii.  20  ;  Esther  iii.  9,  iv.  7  ;  Ezek.  xxvii. 
24,  A.V.  'chests';  i  Chron.  xxviii.  11.  It  is  strictly 
a  Persian,  and  not  a  Hebrew  word,  pronounced  in 
Persian  ganza^  and  by  the  Hebrew,  therefore,  genez 
(Esther)  tj.?.  ox  g'naz  (Ezra)  T33.  The  word  occurs  also 
in  Nehemiah,  and  often  in  the  Apocryphal  books  of 
Maccabees. 

2.  In  Matt,  xxvii.  6,  speaking  of  the  money 
returned  by  Judas,  the  priests  said,  '  It  is  not  lawful 
to  put  them  into  the  treasury,'  and  here  the  word 
used  is  Kopl3avav,  which  again  appears  in  Mark  vii.  11, 
'  It  is  Corban,'  Kop/Bav. 

The  allusion  here  is,  not  to  the  general  treasury  for 
the  Temple  service,  or  for  wood,  offerings,  or  incense^ 
but  to  gifts  specially  dedicated  to  God  by  promise, 
vow,  or  solemn  offering — what  would  be  better  under- 
stood by  us  as  an  oblation  or  a  gift  offered  at  the 
altar. 

3.  The  third  word  is  Orjcravpos  (thesatirtis),  that  which 
is  laid  up,  saved,  treasured,  preserved,  from  ^eVis  d^ 
avpLov,  'laying  up  for  the  morrow,'  and  is  used  as  to 


COINS   NAMED   IN    THE    NEW   TESTAMENT        79 

valuables  and  treasures  of  personal,  and  not  dedicated 
property  (Matt.  ii.  11 ;  vi.  19,  20;  xii.  ^^',  xiii.  44,  52; 
xix.  21 ;  Mark  x.  21  ;  Luke  vi.  45  ;  xii.  ^^  ;  xviii.  22  ; 
2  Cor.  iv.  7  ;  Col.  ii.  3  ;  Heb.  xi.  26). 

To  conclude  on  New  Testament  money,  the  refer- 
ences to  gold  must  be  given. 

Our  Lord  forbade  His  disciples  to  carry  gold  (Matt. 
x.  9),  and  St.  Peter  stated  that  he  possessed  none  (Acts 
iii.  6).  St.  Paul  assured  the  disciples  that  he  coveted  no 
man's  gold  (Acts  xx.  ^^);  and  there  are  two  references 
to  gold  in  the  Epistles  (Jas.  v.  3  and  i  Pet.  i.  18). 

The  references  are  all  to  gold  money  generically,  and 
not  to  a  coin.  The  Roman  a7^rez  were  probably  well 
known  to  the  Jews  at  the  time.  The  talent,  it  must 
be  remembered,  was  never  a  coin,  but  a  weight  or  sum 
of  money ;  see  Matt,  xviii.  23-35  ;  xxv.  14-30  ;  Luke 
xix.  13-24. 


CHAPTER  VI 


COINS   ILLUSTRATIVE   OF   BIBLE   STORY 


The  revolts  of  the  Jews  against  the  Roman  power, 
which  took  place  first  in  A.D.  66,  do  not  concern  the 
purpose  of  this  book,  as  it  is  not  written  to  describe 
all  the  coins  issued  by  the  Jews  as  a  nation. 


COINS   OF   ELEAZAR   THE    PRIEST. 


The  first  revolt  was  led  by  Eleazar,  son  of  Ananias 
the  high  priest,  before  whom  St.  Paul  was  brought, 
and  of  whom  he  said,  '  God  shall  smite  thee,  thou 
whited  wall,'  Acts  xxiii.  3.  The  silver  and  copper 
coins  of  Eleazar  are  here  depicted.    These  inscriptions 


COINS   ILLUSTRATIVE   OF   BIBLE   STORY 


8l 


are  in  Hebrew,  and  refer  to  the  first,  second  or  third 
year  of  the  Redemption  or  Deliverance  of  Israel. 

The  coins  struck  by  the  Sanhedrim  bear  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  Temple,  around  which  the  affection 
of  the  Jews  still  lived,  and  to  save  which  they  rallied 
their  forces.     The  Sanhedrim  coins  are  shown  below, 


COIN   OF   THE    FIRST   YEAR    OF   THE    REVOLT 


COIN    OF   SIMON   UF    THE    FIRST  YEAR   OF   THE    REVOLT. 

with  Hebrew  inscriptions  recording  the  deliverance  of 
Zion,  and  with  the  representation  of  one  of  the  Temple 
vessels  of  gold  or  silver. 

Other  coins  issued  in  this  revolt  are  shown  below, 
merely  as  illustrative  of  the  period,  and  for  the  sake 
of  the  characteristic  Jewish  emblems  of  a  vine  leaf, 

F 


8a  THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 

a  lyre,  a  palm-tree,  and  Temple  vases  and  vessels 
that  appear  upon  them. 

Coins  of  Simon  Nasi. 


COIN    OF   SIMON    OF   THE    FIRST   YEAR   OF    THE    REVOLT. 


COIN   OF   SIMON   OF   THE   FIRST   YEAR   OF   THE   REVOLT. 


COIN    OF    SIMON    OF    THE    FIRST    YEAR   OF   THE    REVOLT 
(YEAR    67-68). 


COIN    OF    SIMON    OF    THE   SECOND    YEAR   OF   THE    REVOLT 
(YEAR   67-6S). 


COINS   ILLUSTRATIVE   OF   BIBLE   STORY  83 


COIN    OF    SIMON    OF   THE   THIRD   YEAR   OF   THE   REVOLT 

(year  6S-69). 

In  A.D.  70  Titus  besieged  Jerusalem,  and  after 
most  heroic  defence  the  city  fell,  the  famine  having 
subdued  the  dauntless  energy  of  its  inhabitants.  The 
Temple  was  destroyed,  and  the  sufferings  depicted  by 
Josephus  were  of  the  most  terrible  character. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  occasion  upon  which  our 
Divine  Lord  wept  over  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  Holy 
City,  in  view  of  His  great  prophecy,  that  '  there  shall 
not  be  left  one  stone  upon  another  that  shall  not  be 
thrown  down,'  it  may  be  of  interest  if  specimens  are 
given  of  the  Roman  coins  struck  and  issued  to  com- 
memorate the  fall  of  Jerusalem  and  the  capture  of  the 
city  by  Vespasian  and  Titus, 

The  illustrations  are  of  the  obverses  only  of  three 
coins  of  Vespasian,  and  depict  the  captive  Jew  and 
Jewess  seated  in  different  attitudes  of  despair. 

In  one  the  Roman  emperor  or  a  soldier  is  standing 
on  guard  by  a  captive  Jew,  and  in  another  the  Jew  has 
his  hands  bound  behind  his  back.  In  two  examples 
the  palm-tree  is  shown,  and  in  the  third  a  trophy  of 
arms.  What  a  wealth  of  meaning  there  is  in  the  terse, 
distinct,  defiant  inscription,  JiidcBa  Capta,  Captured 
Judaea!     The  words  of  the  prophet   Isaiah   (iii.   26), 

F  Z 


84 


THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 


'she   being  desolate  shall  sit  upon  the  ground,'  are 
strikingly  illustrated  by  the  devices  on  these  coins. 


OBVERSES   OF    THREE    COINS   OF    VESPASIAN. 

A  further  revolt  of  the  Jews  during  the  time  of 
Hadrian  need  not  be  mentioned,  save  for  one  circum- 


COINS   ILLUSTRATIVE   OF    BIBLE    STORY 


85 


stance.  The  leader,  Simon  Bar  Cochab,  in  A.  D.  132 
announced  himself  as  the  Messiah,  calling  himself  the 
son    of  a  star   (Bar    Cochab),    and    quoting    as    his 


COINS  OF  THE  SECOND  REVOLT, 


warrant  the  words  in  Num.  xxiv.  17,  'The  Star  out  of 
Jacob.'  His  coins  bear  Jewish  emblems,  the  palm- 
tree,  lyre,  vine-leaf,  wheat,  grapes,  and  the  Temple, 
and  noticeably  the  star  above  the  Temple  ;  and  some 


86 


THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 


are  depicted  here,  which  possess  a  certain  interest. 
The  trumpets  used  in  the  Temple  service  appear,  it 
will  be  noticed,  on  one  coin. 


COINS   OF   THE    SECOND    REVOLT. 

To  complete  the  desolation  of  the  city  after  this 
revolt  had  been  subdued,  Hadrian  built  a  new  city  on 
the  ruins  of  Jerusalem,  calling  it  yElia  Capitolina, 
erecting  a  temple  in  it  to  Jupiter,  forming  the  district 
into  a  Roman  colony,  and  so  crushing  completely  the 
ideas  and  affections  of  the  Jews,  and  setting  their 
dearest  traditions  and  their  faith  at  defiance. 

The   copper   coin   of    Hadrian   here   shown   com- 


COPPER    COIN    OF    HADRIAN. 

memorates  this  outrageous  action,  and  the  founding  of 
the  colony  of  vElia  Capitolina. 


COINS   ILLUSTRATIVE  OF   BIBLE  STORY 


«7 


There  are  certain  passages  in  the  Bible  which  receive 
remarkable  confirmation  from  coins.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  in  many  instances  historical  facts 
have  their  chief  illustration  in  coins,  and  in  a  few 
cases  coins  are  almost  the  only  remaining  pictorial 
representation  of  what  is  known  to  have  existed. 

The  historical  accuracy  of  the  Bible,  and  its  un- 
failing truth,  derive  considerable  support  from  the 
coins  that  remain  in  existence ;  and  it  will  be  well  to 
briefly  point  out  a  few  noteworthy  instances  in  which 


PHRYGIAN    COIN. 


coins  illustrate  and  ratify  statements  in  Holy  Writ. 
A  very  curious  and  rare  Phrygian  coin,  struck  at 
Apamea  (called  also  Cibotos,  an  ark)  in  Phrygia,  in 
the  reign  of  Septimus  Severus(A.D.  1 93-211),  bears 
an  illustration  of  the  ark. 

The  reverse  shows  a  vessel  floating  on  the  water, 
and  containing  two  persons,  two  others  (or  the  same 
two  at  another  period)  standing  on  dry  ground.     On 


88 


THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 


the  ark  is  the  word  NHE  (Noah),  and  above  it  are  the 
dove  with  an  oHve  branch  and  the  raven.  The  raven, 
it  will  be  seen,  is  resting  on  the  ark,  as  it  did  not 
return  into  the  ark,  but  going  to  and  fro  doubtless 
rested  on  the  ark.  The  tradition  preserved  in  the 
Sibylline  books  was  to  the  efifect  that  it  was  near  to 
Apamea  that  the  ark  rested. 

"Eo-rt  be  TL  ^pv)(^i7]S  cttI  riTreipoLo  ixekaiviq'S 
''HXLJ3aT0i'  TavvjJLTJKes  opos  'Apapar  be  KaXelrat' 
"EvOa  ^XejSes  \xeyaXov  irorapLOv  Mapcniao  iretfiiJKav 
Tov  be  K6/3coroj  ep-eivev  ev  vylnqevri  Kaprjv(o 
Arj^dvTOiv  vbcLTOiV  ; 
which  may  be  translated — 

'  There  is  on  the  mainland  of  Black  Phrygia 
a  steep  and  far-stretching  mountain  which  is  called 
Ararat.  Here  arise  the  springs  of  the  great  river 
Marsyas.  Upon  its  lofty  top  the  ark  rested  as  the 
waters  receded.' 


TYRIAN    COINS. 


The   great  god    Baal,  of  frequent  mention  in   the 
Old  Testament,  is  portrayed  upon  the  coins  of  the 


COINS  ILLUSTRATIVE  OF  BIBLE  STORY 


89 


Tyrian   isle   Cosyra,   and  the  goddess  Ashtaroth  on 
a  coin  of  Phoenicia. 

In  this  cut,  which  is  enlarged  from  the  coin,  she  is 


PHCENICIAN    COIN    (ENLARGED). 

depicted  as  erect,  holding  a  staff  or  sceptre  on  one 
coin,  and  in  her  state  car  with  canopy  in  the  other. 

A  coin  of  Antoninus  Pius  (a.D.  138)  gives  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  temple  of  Mount  Gerizim  in  Samaria, 
mentioned  in  St.  John  iv.  20. 


COIN    OF   ANTONINUS    PIUS. 


The  inscriptions  may  be  translated  : — 

The  Emperor  Caesar  Augustus  Antoninus  Pius. 
Money  of  Flavia  Neapolis  of  Palestine  in  Syria. 


90 


THE   MONEY   OF   THE   BIBLE 


To  illustrate  the  events  described  in  the  19th  chap- 
ter of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  two  coins  may  be 
taken.  On  the  first  may  be  read  NERHN  KAICAP, 
Nero  Caesar,  and  on  the  reverse  (Money)  of  the 
Ephesians,  NEnKOPOl,  wardens  or  keepers  of  the 
Temple. 

This  latter  word  is  translated  in  verse  ^^  as 
'  worshippers.'  It  is  the  title  given  to  the  Ephesians', 
first  by  themselves  and  afterwards  by  others,  and 
on  which  they   prided  themselves  as  being  keepers. 


EPHESIAN    COIN. 


wardens,  and  guardians  of  that  world-renowned 
Temple.  The  word  strictly  means  temple-sweeper, 
but  was  considered  a  title  of  high  honour.  The  coin 
above  was  issued  by  ^Echmocles  Aviola  the  Pro- 
consul, who  exercised  authority  in  A.D.  54-67,  during 
the  very  time  at  which  St.  Paul  was  at  Ephesus.  He 
is  called  on  the  coin  avOviraTos,  which  is  the  very 
word  used  in  verse  38,  and  translated  '  deputies.' 
The  letters  E<t>  (Eph)  stand  for  Ephesus.  The  other 
illustration,  which,  like  the  first,  depicts  the  Temple  of 
Ephesus,  is  not  a  coin,  but  probably  one  of  the  silver 


COINS   ILLUSTRATIVE   OF   BIBLE   STORY 


91 


charms  or  mementos  that  were  made  by  Demetrius 
and  others  of  his  craft  in  large  numbers,  for  visitors 
to  the  temple  to  purchase  (Acts  xix.  24,  25).    It  bears 


EPHESIAN    CHARM. 


the  name  of  the  city  Ecl^ESinN,  and   in  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  temple  is  the  figure  of  Diana. 

Both  cuts  are  therefore  unconscious  illustrations  in 


COIN   OF  CYPRUS. 


their  very  words   and    their  devices  of  the  genuine 
character  of  the  Bible  narrative. 

Another    interesting   corroboration    of   the   verbal 


92 


THE   MONEY    OF   THE   BIBLE 


accuracy  of  the  New  Testament  can  be  given  from 
a  coin  of  Cyprus.  In  Acts  xiii.  7,  Sergius  Paulus 
is  called  proconsul  or  deputy  of  Cyprus,  the  word 
used  being  again  avOviraTos.  At  that  particular 
moment  he  was  so  called  ;  but  a  few  years  earlier 
deputies  of  Cyprus  had  been  called  propraetors,  and 
not  proconsuls. 

At  the  date  of  the  Bible  narrative  the  title  proconsul 
was  in  force,  and  a  coin  of  that  time  struck  by  Cominus, 
KOMI N 1 01,  acting  under  Claudius  Caesar  as  ruler  of 
Cyprus,  bears  the  title  ANGYnATOI. 


MEDALS    USED   AT   ISTHMIAN    GAMES. 


St.  Paul  in  his  Epistles  makes  frequent  mention  of 
the  great  Isthmian  games ;  see  Heb.  xii.  i  ;  Phil.  ii. 
16,  iii.   14,  iv.   I  ;    i  Cor.  iv.  9,  ix.  24-27  ;    Gal.  v.  7; 


COINS   ILLUSTR ATiyjE/iOK  ^  Bl^i.^^  )^^^^  \  /A  93 

I  Tim.  iv.  8  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  5  ;  and  three  representations 
of  medals  struck  for  use  at  these  games  may  be  of 
interest. 

On  these  medals  are  shown  the  wreath  of  leaves 
given  to  the  victor,  the  name  of  the  peninsula  at 
Corinth  at  which  the  games  took  place,  and  one  of 
the  creatures,  a  crocodile,  chained  up  for  use  at  the 
animal  fights  and  contests  that  were  so  popular  a  part 
of  the  barbarous  sport. 

A  coin  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  B.C.  28c,  in  whose 
time  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  were  translated  into  Greek 
by  the  Seventy,  and  the  Septuagint  (LXX)  version 
so  obtained,  is  illustrated. 


COIN    OF    PTOLEMY    PHILADELPHUS. 


It  shows  Ptolemy  and  Berenice  on  the  obverse,  and 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus  and  Arsinoe,  their  children,  on 
the  reverse  ;  the  inscription  being  GEHN  AAEA^HN, 
'  brother  divinities.' 

I  may  fittingly  conclude  with  two  Roman  medallions 
bearing  upon  them  the  Labarum  and  the  sacred 
monogram  of  Christ,  the  ^  Chr(ist),  first  adopted  by 
the  Emperor  Constantine  on  his  coins  and  on  the 
Roman   standards,  as  a   sign   that    Christianity   had 


94 


THE   ,,v:-ONFV   OF   THE   BIBLE 


overcome  even  the  paganism  of  the  Roman  emperor, 
and  had  started  on  the  course  of  continued  victory 
which  is  only  to  end  in  the  subjugation  of  the  entire 
world  to  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 


PRIMITIVE   SYMBOLICAL   CROSS. 


THE  LABARUM. 


INDEX 


Alexander  Jannteus,  coins  of,  41,  42,  65. 

Alexander  the  Great,  coins  of,  31. 

Annius  Rufus,  coin  of,  55. 

Antigonus,  reign  of,  43. 

Antiochus  Euergetes,  coins  of,  32. 

Antoninus  Pius,  coin  of,  89. 

Apollo,  head  of,  on  coin,  73. 

Artaxerxes,  commission  of,  26. 

As,  a  Roman  coin,  66. 

Asmonjean  dynasty,  pedigree  of,  37. 

Augustus,  coins  of,  61,  67. 

Baal,  figure  of,  on  coins,  88. 

Chalcus,  a  coin,  64. 

Citron,  use  of,  on  coins,  36. 

Constantine,  coins  of,  93. 

Coponius,  coin  of,  55. 

Copper    money,   references    to,   in  New 

Testament,  74. 
Cornucopia,  the,  on  coins,  39. 
Cup,  use  of,  on  coins,  36. 
Cyprus,  coin  of,  91. 

Daria,  Persian,  25. 
Denarius,  the,  69. 
Didrachma,  the,  59. 
Dipondius,  the,  66. 
Drachma,  the,  59. 

Egyptian  ring  money,  15. 
Eleazar,  coins  of,  80. 
Ephesian  coins,  90. 
Ezra,  shekel  of  time  of,  28. 

'  Farthing,'  the,  66. 
Felix,  56. 

Gadara,  coin  of.  68. 

Gold,  references  to,  in  New  Testament,  79. 

Gold,  shekels  of,  22. 

Hadrian,  coin  of,  86. 

Half-shekel,  the,  20,  27  ;  of  Simon  Macca- 

bjEUS,  35. 
Herod  dynasty,  the  rule  of,  42,  43. 
Herod  I,  coin  of,  44. 
Herod  Archelaus,  coin  of,  46. 
Herod  Antipas,  reign  of,  46 ;  coin  of,  48. 
Herod  Philip  II,  coin  of,  49. 
Herod  Agrippa  I,  reign  of,  50  ;  coins  of, 

51,  52. 


Herod  Agrippa  II,  coin  of,  53. 

Icelandic  money,  17. 
Irish  ring  money,  18. 
Isthmian  coins,  92. 

Jerusalem,  the  holy,  29. 

John  Hyrcanus,  rule  of,  39;  coin  of,  40. 

Juba,  coin  of,  68. 

Judas  AristoDulus,  coin  of,  41. 

Labarum,  the,  93. 
Lepton,  the,  64. 

Maccabees,  the,  34. 
Mite,  the  widow's,  64. 
Money-changers,  76. 

Nubian  ring  money,  1 7. 

Palm-tree,  the,  use  of,  on  coins,  36. 
Penny,  Anglo-Saxon,  65 ;  Roman,  69. 
Phrygian  coin,  87. 
'  Piece  of  silver,'  the  term,  21. 
Pontius  Pilate,  coin  of,  56. 
Poppy-head,  use  of,  on  coins,  39. 
Procurators,  rule  of,  54. 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  coin  of,  93. 

Revolts  of  the  Jews,  80  ;  coins  of  the  first, 

80 ;  of  the  second,  85,  86. 
Rhodes,  coin  of,  61. 
Ring  money,  15. 

Sanhedrim,  the,  coins  of,  81. 

Seleucus  I,  coin  of,  32. 

Shekel,  the,  20,  27. 

Silver,  references  to,  in  New  Testament, 

73- 
Simon  Nasi,  coins  of,  82. 
Simon  Bar  Cochab,  coins  of,  85. 
Simon  Maccaba;us,  coins  of,  35. 
Stater,  the,  60 ;  of  Augustus,  6i. 

Talent  of  gold,  worth  of,  23. 
Temple  tribute,  the,  60. 
Tetradrachm  of  Alexander,  32  ;  of  Seleu- 
cus, 32  ;  of  Antiochus,  33. 
Tetradrachma,  the,  59. 
Tiberius,  coin  of,  70. 

Vespasian,  coins  of,  83. 


INDEX   OF   SCRIPTURE   REFERENCES 


Genesis. 

xiii.  2 18 

XX.  16 19 

xxiv.  22    15,  22 

n        35 18 

xxxiii.  19   14 

xxxvii.  28 19 

xlii.  35    16 

Exodus. 

iii.  22  22 

xii.  35,  36    ....15,  22 

xvi.  32     28 

xxi 19 

n      32 63 

xxii 19 

XXX.  13  ... .19,  20,  21 

,,     13.  15     60 

xxxviii.  26 19,  20 

Leviticus. 

V-  15   19 

xxiii.  40 36 

xxvii.  3,  16    19 

,,  25    21 

Numbers. 

"i-47 21 

n  47.  50    19 

xvii.  8     28 

,,    10   29 

xviii.  16   I9i  21 

xxxi.  50,  51    14 

Deuteronomy. 

ii.  6,  28 19 

xiv.  24-26  ....16,  19 

Joshua. 

vii.  21 22 

xxiv.  32 14 

Judges. 

xvi.  5,  18   19 

xvii.  2 19 

1  Samuel. 

ii.  36  21 

ix.  7,  8    20 

,,  8 19,  20 

2  Samuel. 
xxiv.  24 23 

2  Kings. 

V.  5 22 

«23    19 

xxii.  9 21 

1  Chronicles. 

xxii.  25   22 

xxviii.  II    78 

xxix.  7    25 

2  Chronicles. 

xxiv.  9   60 

xxxiv.  17    21 


Ezra. 
ii.  68,  69 25 

V.  17    78 

vi.  I 78 

vii.  16-18  26 

,,    20    78 

viii.  26,  27 25 

Nehemiah. 

V.  15    26 

vii. "70,  72 25 

X.  30    20 

,,32    60 

xi.  1,  18 30 

Esther. 
i"-9     7« 

IV.  7 78 

Job. 

xxviii.  15    23 

xlii.  II     13 

Psalms. 
Ixviii.  30     22 

Canticles. 
ii.  I 62 

Isaiah, 

XXXV.  I   62 

xlviii.  2 29 

Hi.  I     30 

Ezekiel. 

xxii.  20    21 

xxvii.  24     78 

xlv.  12     21 

Daniel. 
ix.  24 30 

HOSEA. 
xiv.  5 29 

Joel. 
iii-  17  30 

Zechariah. 

iv.  3,  12 45 

xi.  12,  13     63 

Matthew. 

ii.i 38 

„  II    79 

V.  26   66,  68 

vi.  19,  20    79 

X.  9 74,  79 

,,29  66 

xii- 35 79 

xiii.  44,  52........ 79 

XIV.  1,3,9.  .38,46,47,49 
xvii.  24,  27..  ..59,  60 

xviii.  23-35    79 

„     28 69 


Matthew. 

xix.  21    79 

XX.  2,9, 10, 13..  69,71 

xxi.  12    76 

xxii.  19  69 

XXV.  14-30 79 

,,    18-27 74- 

,1.27    76 

XXVI.  9    74 

M     15 63,64 

xxvii.  3, 5, 6, 9 . .  63, 64 

„     6    "..78 

xxviii.  12-15 74 

Mark. 

V.  1 67 

vi.8    74 

„  14 38,47 

„  17  49 

„  37 69 

vii.  II 78 

viii.  15    48 

x.  21    79 

xi.  15 76 

xii.  15 69 

■,    41 74 

„   41-43  78 

„   42....  65,  66,  68 

xiv.  5 " 69 

.,    ii     74 

Luke. 

i-5  38 

ii-  I,  2 54 

iii.  I,  19.. 38,47,48,49 

VI.  45 79 

vii.  41 69 

ix.  3     74 

„   7   38,47,48 

X.  35   69 

xii.  6  65,  66 

„    33 •••79 

xiii.  32    47 

XV.  8    59 

XV.  8,  9   72 

xviii.  22 79 

xix.  13-24 79 

„    15-23  74 

„    23 76 

XX.  24 69 

xxii.  I    65,  78 

»     5 74 

xxiii.  12 47 

John. 

ii-  14,  15 77 

.„  15   76 

IV.  20 89 

vi.  7     69 

viii.  20     78 

xii.  5    69 

xix.  12     52 


Acts. 

iii-  6 75,79 

iv..  37   75 

vii.  16 74 

viii.  20     74 

„   27 78 

ix.  32,  35,38  33 

xii 38 

n    I 50 

„    13      62 

„  23    SI 

xiii.  7  92 

xix.  19 71 

„    24,25  91 

XX.  33   75,79 

xxi.  I    62 

xxiii.  3     80 

xxiv.  2 S7 

„     24,  26   56 

„     26 76 

XXV 38 

„  13 53 

xxvi 38 

„     2,28 53 

1  Corinthians. 

iv.  9 92 

ix.  24-27 92 

2  Corinthians. 

iv.  7 79 

xi.  32   46 

Galatians. 
V.  7  93 

Philippians. 

ii.  16    92 

iii.  14  92 

iv.  I 92 

Colossians. 

ii^3 79 

1  Timothy. 
iv.8 93 

2  Timothy. 
ii-5 93 

Hebrews. 

xi.  26  79 

xii.  I    92 

James. 
V.  3    75,79 

I  Peter. 
i-  18 75,  79 

Revelation. 
vi.  6 69 


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